China and Russia will push for a free-trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement after the leaders of the two nations met Saturday in Lima, Peru. President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin met during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the South American city. Leaders of both the countries should communicate frequently, according to the statement on Sunday. The call for free trade in the region comes amid a protectionist mood in the U.S. following the election victory of Donald Trump, which is threatening to derail a trans-Pacific commerce agreement that excludes the world’s second-biggest economy. In a speech Saturday at the APEC summit, Xi pledged to boost global trade and cooperation by opening up further and giving greater access to foreign investors.