Twenty-one world leaders met in Santiago in the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and President George W. Bush of the United States in his first outing since re-election. In January, Chile became the first country in South America to enter a free trade agreement with the United States, and the Chilean government believes the meeting in Santiago of the APEC countries is confirmation of that nation’s state as one of the most vibrant economies in the hemisphere. Anti-Bush and anti-globalization protesters have assembled in the capital and they have been warned that Chilean police will use force to break them up if necessary.