10 Things President Trump Said
On Friday, President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America delivered the penultimate keynote address of the APEC CEO Summit in Da Nang, Viet Nam. President Trump cited the individual achievements of some of the United States’ biggest partners in the region—he calls each “the same story of incredible transformation that we have seen across the region.”
1. On China
“Everyone knows of China’s impressive achievements over the past several decades. During this period—and it was a period of great market reforms—large parts of China experienced rapid economic growth, jobs boomed, and more than 800 million citizens rose out of poverty. I just left China this morning and had a really productive meeting and a wonderful time with our gracious host, President Xi.”
2. On Indonesia
“Indonesians for decades have been building domestic and democratic institutions to govern their vast chain of more than 13,000 islands. Since the 1990s, Indonesia’s people have lifted themselves from poverty to become one of the fastest-growing nations of the G20. Today, it is the third-largest democracy on Earth.”
3. On Japan
“In Japan we see a dynamic democracy in a land of industrial, technological, and cultural wonders. In fewer than 60 years, that island nation has produced 24 Nobel Prize winners for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and the promotion of peace.”
4. On Malaysia
“Malaysia has rapidly developed through recent decades, and it is now ranked as one of the best places in the world to do business.”
5. On the Philippines
“The Philippines has emerged as a proud nation of strong and devout families. For 11 consecutive years, the World Economic Forum has ranked the Philippines first among Asian countries in closing the gender gap and embracing women leaders in business and in politics.”
7. On the Republic of Korea
“As I recently observed in South Korea, the people of that Republic took a poor country ravaged by war, and in just a few decades turned it into one of the wealthiest democracies on Earth. Today, South Koreans enjoy higher incomes than the citizens of many European Union countries. It was great spending time with President Moon.”
8. On Singapore
“In Singapore, citizens born to parents who survived on $500 dollars a year are now among the highest earners in the world—a transformation made possible by the vision of Lee Kwan Yew’s vision of honest governance and the rule of law.”
9. On Thailand
“The Kingdom of Thailand has become an upper middle-income country in less than a generation. Its majestic capital of Bangkok is now the most visited city on Earth. And that is very impressive.”
10. On Viet Nam
“In the early 1990s, nearly half of Viet Nam survived on just a few dollars a day, and one in four did not have any electricity. Today, an opening Vietnamese economy is one of the fastest-growing economies on Earth. It has already increased more than 30 times over, and the Vietnamese students rank among the best students in the world.”