TRANSCRIPT:
This year's APEC summit took place in the US city of San Fransisco.
President Joe Biden has used the familiar ground to champion its success, his nation's ongoing interests, and hope for the future.
"As I said yesterday, America's commitment to the Asia-Pacific is unwavering and, in our view, from America's perspective, essential. I know President Boluarte shares this commitment. And I want you to know next year, when the APEC summit is hosted in Peru, it will help drive these economies forward. And when we hang out in Peru, the views are going to be nice, too!"
Global bodies like the International Monetary Fund have also spoken of the importance of the APEC summit.
The Fund's Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, says the keynote meeting at between Mr Biden ad Mr Xi is badly-needed signal that the world needs to co-operate more, especially heading the next major global meeting, the U-N's COP28 meeting on climate change.
"We see two very important outcomes of this meeting. The first one is just the signalling effect it has and I heard it in the room, I heard it in the corridors. It is received very positively. And the second is discussing some of the most pressing issues, especially climate, given that we are now days away from the start of COP28, reinvigorating a sense of urgency to work together is certainly very timely and very important."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also happy.
He's met many world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including Chinese President, Xi Jinping, on the summit's final day.
Mr Albanese says there is cause for optimism, as China undertakes an expedited review of its tariffs on Australian wine, so soon after Mr Albanese's trip to Beijing.
"He regards my visit there as being very successful. We re-iterated the stabilisation that is occurring. Andof course, our trade. The removal of any of the remaining trade impediments is in Australia's interest. But it was positive."
Mr Albanese has treaded carefully on the diplomatic front, saying that the US and China have worked out their differences on the sidelines of APEC after Mr Biden branded the Chinese leader a dictator in response to media questions.
'JOURNALIST: "Do you still consider President Xi a dictator?"
BIDEN: "Well look, he is! He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a communist country."'
But while the Prime Minister has won some hearts on the global stage, he'll now face domestic political challenges on his return home.
Before boarding the plane home, Mr Albanese fired back at his chief domestic political critic, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who had called on him to cancel this trip and stay at home to deal with the High Court's ruling on immigration detention.
Mr Albanese has said such a call is unworthy of someone of Mr Dutton's standing.
"This is about our national economy and our national interest and national jobs. And the opportunity to be with the leaders of 21 economies that represent of our trade...I just say to Peter Dutton, if you want to be the alternative Prime Minister of Australia, you need something more than just opportunism, and comments like that."
There's also been criticism of revelations that Australian navy divers sustained minor injuries in an incident with a Chinese warship earlier this week.
The divers were working to free fishing nets from the propellors of HMAS Toowoomba in international waters off the coast of Japan when the Chinese vessel approached, and operated its hull mounted sonar despite being advised the divers were in the water.
Opposition spokesman Senator James Paterson has questioned why the government didn't issue details of the incident until five days after it had taken place.
He says the Prime Minister should have raised the issue directly with President Xi in San Francisco.
