By CGTN's Dialogue

US President Donald Trump is on his first tour of the Asia-Pacific since taking office. It is also the longest trip of any sitting US president since George H. W. Bush’s in 1992, made memorable by Bush vomiting on the Japanese prime minister at a state dinner. So what will turn out to be the most memorable incident of Trump’s tour?

Trump went directly to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Da Nang, Vietnam after a smooth and cordial state visit to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping also traveled to Vietnam, and made his address directly after Trump.

CGTN’s Dialogue host Li Qiuyuan outlined some of the main initiatives President Xi promoted in his speech, such as solar innovation, promoting new energy, finding new growth engine, and on a global level, building a shared future for mankind. She turned to the guests for their impression of the Chinese president’s messages to the global audience.

Director of China National Association for International Studies, Victor Gao Zhikai, said President Xi’s words had been very reassuring for most of the other APEC delegates. Gao said Xi mentioned “everything the others want to listen to, that is: free trade, greater liberalization, more connectivity, more cooperation, win-win situations.” He said this was very different to Trump’s message of more protectionism and national interests first.

For updates from Da Nang, Dialogue connected with CGTN’s GlobalBiz anchor Cheng Lei, who had been present on site during Trump’s speech. She described the atmosphere during what she referred to as “A Tale of Two Speeches: one inclusive, one accusatory.” She said after initial complimentary comments on the region, Trump’s “teeth were bared, and to a room full of people from economies that had benefited from globalization and free trade, and don’t feel they have taken advantage of the US, you can understand why the reception was lukewarm.”

Cheng Lei added that Trump went on to get Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s name wrong, didn’t seem to know Latin America was in APEC and “taunted the audience when they didn’t applaud after he described how the US had been taken for a ride.”

Also speaking with Dialogue via satellite was Russian defense analyst, Pavel Felgenhauer. He described how the Russians were left feeling snubbed by Trump, who had pulled out of an opportunity to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of APEC conference. Felgenhauer said the only reason Putin had taken the 20-hour trip to Vietnam was to meet with Trump, as otherwise the Russian prime minister would have attended the event. He said “Russia stretched out and now feels berated by the US, which is not a good outcome for anybody.”

On the other hand, former editor of the Japan Times, Yoichi Shimatsu, praised Trump for pulling back from the APEC group. He said the US had initially created APEC to hinder Malaysian plans for an East Asian economic community. However, Shimatsu said he doesn’t think the US economy really fits into APEC. “It’s not a negative development. The US is part of North America. It’s got different interests to East Asia. Let it go.”

Shimatsu also said Trump was right to criticize the World Trade Organization, because of the amount of investment and trade the US has put in, ending up exhausted without seeing any return. He said “My prediction is… 20 years, watch China, you’re all going to feel the same way as America does now.”

So in APEC 2037, will China be promoting protectionism after being exhausted from propping up the world’s weaker economies? Only time will tell.

Dialogue with Yang Rui is a 30-minute current affairs talk show on CGTN. It airs daily at 7.30 p.m. BJT (1130GMT), with rebroadcasts at 3.30 a.m. (1930GMT) and 11.30 a.m. (0330GMT).(FROM CGTN )