President Clinton addresses a meeting at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Brunei yesterday. Mr Clinton called for a new round of world trade negotiations next year, despite opposition from poorer countries. Photograph: Rick Bowmer/AP
Rarely has a global gathering been graced by so many lameduck and crippled leaders as the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit, which takes place in Brunei today.
Leaders of 21 Pacific-rim nations began arriving yesterday for the annual meeting, held this year in Bandar Seri Bega Wan, capital of the little oil-rich Islamic sultanate on the island of Borneo.
It was President Clinton's idea in 1993 to bring together APEC leaders whose economies represent two-thirds of the world's population and wealth and almost a half of its trade.
The first summit was held in Seattle, but with nine weeks of his presidency left and his authority fading, this is Mr Clinton's final opportunity to push the US line of easing barriers to trade and investment and sharing the benefits of the new economy.
It may also be the last APEC for several embattled participants. President Joseph Estrada of the Philippines has just been impeached and faces a Senate corruption trial. Japan's Prime Minister, Mr Yoshiro Mori, is under mounting pressure to quit after a series of monumental gaffes - the latest was his astonishing comment in Brunei that he would not step down as he governed with a "mandate from heaven".
Then there is President Abdurrahman of Indonesia, who is fighting a losing battle for control of his vast, disintegrating archipelago and who is not taken seriously by other world leaders.
Also represented in Brunei is President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan, who is facing a recall move by parliament - and allegations of an affair with his 30-year-old interpreter.
One could go on. The Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chretien, is in the throes of a tough general election and Malaysia's Prime Minister, Dr Mohamad Mahathir, faces street discontent from supporters of his jailed deputy, Mr Anwar Ibrahim.
Given such distractions among APEC's diverse and often divided membership, few observers expect major announcements from the summit, at which Mr Clinton called for a new global trade round under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be launched "as early as possible next year".
However, several important bilateral meetings are being held on the fringes of the 24-hour summit, which began yesterday evening. Mr Clinton's schedule includes separate meetings with the Russian President, Mr Putin, South Korean President, Mr Kim Dae-Jung, Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, and Mr Mori.
Mr Clinton told a meeting of business executives that Asia was even more important to Washington after the cold war and it remained committed to "this vital part of the world".
"There is no longer any doubt that our link to this region is permanent, not passing," he said. "Our troops remain here as a force for stability. We have renewed our alliance with Japan. We have worked to preserve the peace in the two likeliest flashpoints of conflict: the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula."
Mr Clinton said he hoped the APEC summits would continue, but added, laughing, that recent events in the United States had shown "we should all be very careful about making predictions".