The drive for free trade emerged Sunday as the early focus of the annual Asia-Pacific forum as senior officials opened a week of talks in Vietnam ahead of a summit of leaders from 21 key economies.
North Korea's nuclear ambitions also feature large on the agenda after its shock October 9 atom bomb test and subsequent promise to return to six-nation disarmament talks.
For communist Vietnam, though, the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) meeting is perhaps above all a chance for East Asia's fastest-growing economy after China to underline its arrival on the world stage.
The banners are in place, security has been ramped up and a new convention centre built at a cost of nearly 270 million dollars to host Vietnam's biggest ever diplomatic event.
It will culminate at the weekend with a summit drawing US President George W. Bush - newly weakened after his party's election pasting - as well as China's Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin of Russia.
A delegate said senior officials who met Sunday to haggle over the agenda were weighing up whether to draft a strongly-worded statement for approval on reviving stalled global trade talks.
"APEC wants to give a push, to give the political will to the Doha round," said a Latin American delegate who did not want to be identified, referring to stalled World Trade Organisation talks on breaking down barriers.
Issuing a separate statement - rather than just including the issue in an end-of-summit communique - would underscore the region's concerns, he added, warning of "debilitating consequences" if not enough was done.
APEC nations are under pressure to consider a US-led drive for a free trade zone that would stretch across the Pacific.
The idea would be to harmonise the "noodle bowl" of existing bilateral and regional free trade deals and offer an alternative if the WTO talks fail.
Meanwhile US, South Korean and Japanese envoys will meet here Wednesday as part of efforts to restart six-nation talks on disarming North Korea.
Separately, according to a diplomatic source, major APEC nations will also hold talks on regional security and political concerns which will include the threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear weapons drive.
China, the North's closest ally, is reportedly blocking attempts to draw up an APEC statement on Pyongyang, feeling it may jeopardise the highly sensitive negotiations on restarting the six-party forum.
The diplomatic spotlight will really come into focus after Wednesday, when foreign and trade ministers gather, and Friday when the leaders convene for a weekend of bilateral and round-table talks. Other subjects to be discussed include terrorism, something Bush will also take up with Indonesian leaders en route to Hanoi, the threat of bird flu and other pandemics and the US leader's "freedom agenda" of spreading democracy.
Although APEC's commitments are voluntary - something critics say weakens its influence - the body is important simply because it represents 40 percent of the global population, 47 percent of its trade and 60 percent of its gross domestic product.
It is also an important forum for behind-the-scenes politicking.
Among key bilateral meetings planned later in the week is between Bush and Hu, while the United States and Russia are expected to sign a bilateral trade deal at the summit paving the way for Russia's WTO accession.
Bush is also due to meet Thailand's military-installed premier, although to make its allies "more comfortable" the Thai junta is expected to lift martial law within a few days.
Hu's schedule includes a one-on-one with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for only the second time. Whatever the leaders do, they are not likely to see any protests.
While similar international summit have witnessed large anti-globalisation demonstrations, Vietnam bans opposition parties and street rallies and Hanoi's estimated 15,000 police are on duty to ensure it stays that way.
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