U.S. President Barack Obama not attending APEC Summit BALI, Indonesia, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Heads of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation met Monday in the Indonesian resort of Bali but absent was U.S. President Barack Obama. Obama canceled his planned Asia trip due to the U.S. government shutdown, giving the charge of leading the U.S. delegation to Secretary of State John Kerry to both the Bali meeting and later in the week the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations session in Brunei. During the weekend, Kerry assured that whatever was happening in Washington would not diminish in any way the U.S. commitment to its partners in Asia, the BBC reported. CNN reported that in the absence of Obama, President Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia would be taking the ringside seats at the summit. Normally, it is the United States, as the world's largest economy, which sets the tone. CNN said under the original plan, Obama was to have spoken Monday at the APEC before the leaders' retreat on Tuesday. The subject of the speech was going to be: "America's leadership and priorities: What they mean for the world." Asia-Pacific's importance also has grown in light of the Obama administration's pivot to the strategic and economically lucrative region. Among the Obama administration's objectives are to boost U.S. trade with the region's countries, which in turn would help create jobs at home. The CNN report said with Obama staying back in Washington, it would be up to Kerry to carry the load in discussions with Xi, Putin and other key leaders such as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian host President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Kerry will also be involved in the U.S.-led 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations on the sidelines. The ultimate aim of the TPP talks to create a free trade pact for Asia-Pacific nations. Currently the nations involved in the TPP effort are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. CNN said China is also hoping to be a TPP member in the next three to four years despite issues including China's restrictions on Internet access. The report said for Xi, the Bali summit would have provided another opportunity to work with Obama for building his "new model of a major country relationship." APEC was established in 1989 and its members include Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Taiwan, the United States along with seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Together, the APEC accounts for about 50 percent of the world's economic output.