While the much anticipated APEC summit officially kicks off Saturday in San Francisco, organizers held what they called a "curtain-raising event" Friday, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta addressing a multi-stakeholder forum.
The gathering of 150 leaders from civil organizations, the private sector and labor is focused on how to transition to cleaner energy sources in a just way -- inclusive and sustainable for all.
Matt Murray, U.S. ambassador for APEC, helped coordinate this year's summit and kicked off the final pre-event meeting on Friday.
"This forum marks the beginning, the curtain raiser, as you heard earlier, of the 2023 APEC Economic Leaders' Week," he said. "President Biden will soon welcome leaders and thousands of delegates from all APEC economies to San Francisco."
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Members of the New Zealand delegation formally opened the forum with a traditional Maori song and Bonta delivered a welcome speech.
As conversations about climate change and other issues circulate through APEC, the U.S. Government is also spring boarding off the event to shore up relations with China.
It's a relationship that has frayed since the pandemic And grew even icier when president Joe Biden took office.
Earlier on Friday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with her Chinese counterpart He Lifeng.
"We do not seek to decouple our economy from China. This would be damaging to both the U.S. and China," she said.
Yellen's two days of meetings are part of the lead up to a formal meeting with Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit next week.
