Leaders from the Pacific Rim will fly to Bangkok on Thursday for a summit on the recovery from the pandemic and the global economic turmoil sparked by the war in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will join high-level talks with rulers of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum.

The meeting follows a G20 meeting in Indonesia that was overcome by fears that a deadly missile attack on Poland signals a dangerous escalation in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Western leaders have sought to tone down the alarm, saying the blast was likely an accident, with both Poland and NATO saying the blast was most likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile launched to intercept a Russian barrage .

US President Joe Biden held emergency talks with G7 and NATO allies on the fringes of the G20 on Wednesday, before saying it was unlikely the missile was launched from Russia.

China’s President Xi Jinping is due to arrive in Bangkok later Thursday, days after a landmark summit with Biden in Bali.

The superpower couple sought to take the heat out of their rivalry, which has sharply intensified in recent years as Beijing has grown more powerful and assertive to replace the US-led order that has reigned since World War II.

They emerged from three-hour talks Monday, stating that there need be no new Cold War and their desire to prevent tensions from spilling over into conflict.

The easing will be welcome news for APEC members, who are increasingly concerned at the prospect of having to take sides between the world’s two largest economies.

While the two still bickered over the issue of Taiwan’s future self-government – a major regional flashpoint – they found common ground in Ukraine.

They stressed that using or threatening to use nuclear weapons was unacceptable – a clear rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats over his failed war in Ukraine.

The APEC summit caps two intense two-weeks of diplomacy in Asia following last week’s G20 summit and a meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Phnom Penh.

Alongside the main summit, Xi is expected to hold bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — the Chinese leader’s first face-to-face talks with a Japanese leader since 2019.

Macron landed in Bangkok late Wednesday aiming to reinvigorate France’s strategic ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region following the humiliating blow from Australia, which canceled a major submarine contract in 2021.