(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping took center stage in a family photo on Saturday at the APEC summit in Peru, while Joe Biden got a spot near the back corner.
Xi was one of the first to arrive for the annual photo, in which all leaders wore a brown scarf, and chatted with Peruvian leader Dina Boluarte. Biden was the last leader to arrive, and took his spot in the back between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Vietnam President Luong Cuong. He briefly clasped the hand of Thailand’s youngest-ever leader before the group broke to exit.
The formation was similar to 2016, when Peru last hosted the gathering. Back then, Obama also had a spot in the back corner, with Xi also standing next to the Peruvian leader. That photo also include Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who hasn’t attended one of the summits since his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
While the lineup is typically alphabetical in some form, the configuration varies. Last year when the US hosted in San Francisco, the countries starting with “A” were closer to Biden as host, putting Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese closer to the middle with Xi further to the side. This year Albanese was all the way to the right on the first row.
At the 2017 APEC summit hosted in Vietnam, Donald Trump — who is set to return to power in January — stood prominently in the center of the back row. Former Vice President Mike Pence also got a center front spot in 2018 when Papua New Guinea hosted.
Xi appeared relaxed while waiting for the photo on Saturday, chitchatting with Boluarte and turning around to speak with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, whom he met for a one-on-one meeting a day earlier. Xi received a red-carpet welcome earlier this week as he inaugurated a $1.3 billion port at the Presidential palace on the sidelines of the summit.
Xi has used the summit to position China as a bastion of economic globalization ahead of Trump’s return, warning that protectionism threatened to bring the world “back in history.”
A widening chasm between the world’s two biggest economies, and the outbreak of wars in Europe and the Middle East has made for a more somber family photo in recent years. This year’s brown scarves were less elaborate than the ponchos donned by the smiling leaders in Peru eight years ago.
--With assistance from Jenny Leonard.
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