Pres. Trump thank you. What an honor it is to be here in vietnam in the very heart of the indo pacific to address the people and Business Leaders of this region. This has already been a remarkable week for the United States in this wonderful part of the world. Starting from hawaii, melania and i traveled to japan, south korea, and china, and now to vietnam to be here with all of you today. Before we begin, i want to address all those affected by typhoon damrey. Americans are praying for you and for your recovery in the months ahead. Our hearts are united with the vietnamese people suffering in the aftermath of this terrible storm. This trip comes at an exciting time for america. A new optimism has swept all across our country. Economic growth has reached 3. 2 , and going higher. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 17 years. The stock market is at an alltime high. And the whole world is lifted by americas renewal. Everywhere ive traveled on this journey, ive had the pleasure of sharing the good news from america. But even more, ive had the honor of sharing our vision for a free and open indopacific a place where sovereign and independent nations with diverse cultures and many different dreams can prosper sidebyside, and thrive in freedom and in peace. I am so thrilled to be here today at apec, because this organization was founded to help achieve that very purpose. America stands as a proud member of the community of nations who make a home on the pacific. We have been an active partner in this region since we first won independence ourselves. In 1784, the First American ship sailed to china from the newly independent United States. It went loaded with goods to sell in asia, and it came back full of porcelain and tea. Our first president , George Washington himself, owned a set of tableware from that ship. In 1804, Thomas Jefferson sent the explorers lewis and clark on an expedition to our pacific coast. They were the first of the millions of americans who ventured west to live out americas manifest destiny across our vast continent. In 1817, our Congress Approved the first fulltime Pacific Development of an American Development of an american warship. That initial naval presence soon grew to a squadron and then a fleet to guarantee freedom of navigation for the growing number of ships braving the high seas to reach markets in the philippines, singapore, and india. In 1818 we began a relationship with the kingdom of thailand. 15 years later, our two countries signed a treaty of friendship and commerce, our first with an asian nation. In the next century when imperialist powers threatened the region, the United States pushed back at great cost to ourselves. We understood, security and prosperity depended on it. We have been friends, partners and allies in the indo pacific for a long time. We will be friends, partners, and allies for a long time to come. As old friends in the region, no one has been more delighted in america to witness, to help, and to share in the extraordinary progress you have made over the last halfcentury. What the countries and economies represented here today have built in this part of the world is nothing short of miraculous. The story of this region in recent decades, is the story of what is possible when people take ownership of their future. Few would have imagined just a generation ago, leaders of these nations would come together, here, to deepen our friendships, expand our partnerships and celebrate the amazing achievements of our people. This city was once home to an American Military base. In a country where Many Americans and vietnamese lost their lives in a very bloody war. Today we are no longer enemies, we are friends. This port city is bustling with ships from all around the world. Engineering marvels like the bridge welcome the millions who come to visit the stunning beaches, shining lights and ancient charms. In the early 1990s, nearly half of vietnam 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 is already increased more than 30 times over and the vietnamese students rank among the best students in the world. [applause] and that is very impressive. This is the same story of incredible transformation that we have seen across the region. Indonesians, for decades have been building domestic and Democratic Institutions to govern more than 13,000 islands. Since the 1990s, indonesias 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. The philippines has emerged as a proud nation of strong and about 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 politics. [applause] the kingdom of thailand has become an upper middle income country in less than a generation. Its a majestic capital of bangkok is now the most visited city on earth. That is very impressive. Not too many people here are from thailand. [laughter] [applause] malaysia has rapidly developed in recent decades and is now ranked as one of the best places in the world to do business. In singapore, citizens born to parents who survived on 500 a day are now among the highest earners in the world. A transformation made possible by the vision of honest governance and the rule of law. [applause] his great son is now doing an amazing job. 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. Everyone knows of chinas impressive achievements over the past several decades. During this 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. I had a really productive meeting and a wonderful time with our gracious host, president xi jinping. As i saw in my first top of this trip, 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 prizewinners in the promotion of peace, art and literature. [applause] president shinzo abe and i agree on so much. In the broader region, countries outside of apec our making Great Strides in this new chapter for the indo pacific. India is celebrating the 70th anniversary of independence. It is a sovereign democracy as anniversary of independence. Well, think of this, over one billion people, it is the largest democracy in the world. Since india opened its economy [applause] it has achieved astounding growth and a new world of opportunity for the expanding middle class. Prime minister the Prime Minister has been working to bring that vast country and all of its people together as one. He is working at it very, very successfully indeed. As we can see in more and more places throughout the region, citizens of sovereign and independent nations have taken greater control of their destinies and unlocked the potential of their people. They have pursued vision of justice and accountability promoted private property and the rule of law and embraced systems that value hard work in individual enterprise. They built businesses. They built cities. They built entire countries from the ground up. Many of you in this room have taken part in these great, uplifting National Projects of building. They have been your projects, from inception to completion. From dreams, to reality. With your help this entire region has emerged and it is still emerging as a beautiful constellation of nations, each its own bright star, satellites to none. Each one, a people, a culture, a way of life and a home. Those of you who have lived through these transformations understand better than anyone the value of what you have achieved. You also understand that your home is your legacy and you must always protect it. In the process of your Economic Development you sought commerce and trade with other nations and forged partnerships based on Mutual Respect and directed toward mutual gain. Today i am here to offer Mutual Partnership with america to Work Together to strengthen the bonds of friendship and commerce with all the nations of the indo pacific in order to promote all of our prosperity and security. At the core of this partnership we seek robust trade relationships, rooted in the principles of fairness and reciprocity. When the United States enters into a trading relationship with other countries or other peoples, we will, from now on, expect that our partners will faithfully follow the rules just like we do. We expect that markets will be open to an equal degree on both sides and that private industry, not government planners, will direct investment. Unfortunately for too long, and in too many places, the opposite has happened. For many years the United States systematically opened our economy with few conditions. We lowered or ended tariffs, reduced trade barriers and allowed foreign goods to flow freely into our country. While we lowered market barriers, other countries didnt open their markets to us. They mustve been one of the beneficiaries. What country do you come from, sir . Countries were embraced by the World Trade Organization even if they did not abide by its stated principles. Simply put, we have not been treated fairly by the World Trade Organization. Organizations like the wto can only function properly when all members follow the rules and respect the sovereign rights of every member. We cannot achieve open markets if we do not insure ensure open market access. Unfair trade undermines us all. The United States promoted private enterprise, innovation and industry. Other countries use government run industrial planning and state owned enterprises. We adhered to wto principles on protecting intellectual property and ensuring fair and equal market access. They engaged in Product Market dumping, currency manipulation and predatory practices. They ignore the rules to gain advantage over those who follow the rules causing enormous distortions in commerce and threatening the foundations of International Trade itself. Such practices, along with our collective failure to respond to them hurt many people in our country and also in other countries. Jobs, factories and industries were stripped out of the United States and out of many countries in addition. Many opportunities for mutually Beneficial Investments were lost because people could not trust the system. We can no longer tolerate these chronic trade abuses. We will not tolerate them. Despite years of broken promises, we were told that someday soon, everyone would behave fairly and responsibly. People in america and throughout the Indo Pacific Region have waited for that day to come. But it never has and that is why i am here today. To speak frankly about our challenges and work toward a Brighter Future for all of us. I recently had an excellent trip to china where i spoke openly and directly with president xi jinping about chinas unfair trade practices and the enormous deficits they have produced with the United States. I expressed our strong desire to work with china to achieve a trading relationship that is conducted on a truly fair and equal basis. The current trade imbalance is not acceptable. I do not blame china or any other country of which, there are many. Partaking of the advantage of the United States on trade, if their representatives are able to get away with it, they are just doing their jobs. I wish previous administrations in my country saw what was happening and did something about it. They did not, but i will. From this day forward, we will compete on a fair and equal basis. We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of anymore. I am always going to put america first, the same way i expect all of you in this room to put your countries first. [applause] the United States is prepared to work with each of the leaders in this room today to achieve mutually beneficial commerce that is in the interest of both your countries and mine. That is the message i am here to deliver. I will make bilateral trade agreements with any indo pacific nation that wants to be our partner and that will abide by the principles of fair and reciprocal trade. What we will no longer do, is enter into large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty, and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible. Instead, we will deal on a basis of Mutual Respect and mutual benefit. We will respect your independence and sovereignty. We want you to be strong, prosperous and selfreliant. Rooted in your history and branching out toward the future. That is how we will thrive and grow together, in partnerships of real and lasting value. But for this, and i call it, the indo pacific dream, if it is going to be realized, we must ensure that all play by the rules, which they do not right now. Those who do will be our closest economic partners. Those who do not can be certain that the United States will no longer turn a blind eye to violations, cheating, or economic aggression. Those days are over. We will no longer tolerate the audacious theft of intellectual property. We will confront the destructive practices of forcing businesses to surrender their technology to the state and forcing them into joint ventures in exchange for market access. We will address the massive subsidizing of industries through colossal state owned enterprises that put private competitors out of business, happening all the time. We will not remain silent as American Companies are targeted by state affiliated actors for economic gain whether through cyber attacks, corporate espionage, or other anticompetitive practices. We will encourage all nations to speak out loudly when the principles of fairness and reciprocity are violated. We know it is in americas interest to have partners throughout this region that are thriving, prosperous, and dependent on no one. We will not make decisions for the purpose of power or patronage. We will never ask our partners to surrender their sovereignty, privacy, and intellectual property or to limit contracts to state owned suppliers. We will find opportunities for our private sector to work with yours and to create jobs and wealth for us all. We seek strong partners, not weak partners. We seek strong neighbors, not weak neighbors. Above all, we seek friendship and we do not dream of domination. For this reason, we are also refocusing our existing development efforts. We are calling on the world bank and the Asian Development bank to direct efforts toward high quality Infrastructure Investment that promotes economic growth. The United States will also do its part, we are committed to reforming our Development Finances institutions so they better incentivize private Sector Investment in your economies and provide strong alternatives to state directed initiatives that come with many strings attached. The United States has been reminded time and again in recent years that Economic Security is not merely related to national security, Economic Security is national security. It is vital [applause] to our national strength. We also know we will not have lasting prosperity if we do not confront grave threats to security, sovereignty and stability facing our world today. Earlier this week, i addressed the National Assembly in south korea and urged every responsible nation to stand united in declaring that every single step the north korean regime takes toward more weapons is a step it takes into greater and greater danger. The future of this region and its Beautiful People must not be held hostage to a dictators twisted fantasies of violent conquest and nuclear blackmail. In addition, we must uphold principles that have benefited all of us like respect for the rule of law. [applause] individual rights, and freedom of navigation and overflight including open shipping lanes. Three principles and these principles [applause] create stability and bring trust, security and prosperity among likeminded nations. We must also deal decisively with other threats to our security and the future of our children, such as, criminal cartels, h