Chile has called off the economic summit scheduled for November, according to reports from Bloomberg and Chilean media.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting was set to take place on November 16 and 17 in Chile. The reports say Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has canceled the summit due to violent riots in the country.
The meeting had been expected to be the setting for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping. It was anticipated that the two leaders would sign an interim, “phase one” trade deal. White House officials are scrambling to see if a new venue can be found for the two leaders to meet, according to a White House source.
Violent riots broke out in Chile following a hike in the price of public transportation. Many Chileans look at this as a tax cut on working and middle class people and the protests have broadened to attack what many protestors describe as an economy rigged to favor wealthy elites.