The US Treasury Secretary is rumored to be absent from this month’s APEC Finance Ministers’ meeting to focus on preparations for the APEC Leaders’ Summit in November.

It is rumored that U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent will miss the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Hong Kong this month. The picture shows Bessant speaking in the Oval Office of the White House on the 7th, with President Trump on the right. (Bloomberg)

Hong Kong's "South China Morning Post" exclusively disclosed on the 9th, citing unnamed sources, that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may not attend the "Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation" (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting to be held in Hong Kong later this month in order to focus on preparations for the APEC Leaders' Summit in Shenzhen in November that U.S. President Trump will attend.

Reports indicate that Bessant is expected to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng before Trump's visit to Shenzhen to ensure that the US-China trade war truce scheduled to expire on January 10 next year can be extended. With a trade truce as his top priority, Bessant is believed to focus on the APEC Leaders' Summit in Shenzhen.

According to reports, Washington will reassign a deputy finance minister to attend the APEC finance ministers meeting. A person familiar with the matter revealed that the popular candidate who may lead the U.S. delegation to attend the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Hong Kong from October 20 to 21 is Erin Brown, the deputy secretary of the Treasury who is responsible for international affairs and has participated in U.S.-China economic negotiations.

A source said that Bessente does not want to visit Hong Kong in October because of his tight schedule and the fact that it is too close to the APEC summit in Shenzhen from November 18 to 19. "Bessente's top priority in travel arrangements this fall is to accompany President Trump on his official visit to Shenzhen to attend the APEC summit. It is expected that the two presidents (referring to Trump and Xi) will take this opportunity to consolidate the delicate bilateral economic understanding."

Another source also said that Bessant has confirmed that he will attend the APEC Summit in Shenzhen with Trump in November. If he attends the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Hong Kong, it will be like crossing the Pacific twice in less than four weeks, which is obviously unrealistic.

Washington has long regarded the Treasury Secretary’s attendance at APEC Finance Ministers’ meetings as dispensable. The U.S. Treasury Secretary has only attended four APEC Finance Ministers’ meetings held overseas since the beginning of this century.