Views: Assessing APEC

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit was held in Beijing in November amid a series of disputes between key members. Russia and the United States were in a standoff over Ukraine; Japan and China's territorial disputes rumbled on; and a number of economic and political issues strained Sino-U.S. relations.

Despite this uneasiness, the summit yielded some seemingly positive results. Progress was made on fleshing out the Chinese government's Silk Roads initiatives, and Japanese and Chinese leaders met for the first time in three years. Also, Sino-U.S. relations benefited not only from trade deals, but also from an upgrade to the visa system. Perhaps the most significant development was an agreement by the two countries to cut carbon emissions by 2030.