APEC summit faces hurdle to reach consensus amid trade friction, wars

The leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific economies that collectively account for more than half of global trade will face a formidable challenge in trying to reach consensus when they gather for talks on Wednesday amid the U.S.-China rivalry, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Fresh out of a much-hyped meeting earlier in the day with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Joe Biden is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, with Russian President Vladimir Putin set to be once more absent.

The United States is aiming to release a joint statemen...