Australian PM urges global leaders to reject protectionism, embrace free trade

Global leaders must promote free trade, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday.

Speaking at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Papua New Guinea, Morrison urged leaders to embrace free, open trade, rejecting protectionism.

"The test for us now, for all of us is to stand up for the economic values we believe in. And show how they work, to demonstrate it," Morrison said.

"They have lifted hundreds and millions of people out of poverty as those key core economic values have led to policies and achieve those goals. As they have done."