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The meeting here of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum seems to have generated barely muffled yawns in capitals in Asia and the Americas.

Some of this is natural. People in Seoul and Singapore and Sydney are not much interested in traffic jams on Kapiolani or the roads closed for security around the convention center.

Beyond that, however, the skimpy news coverage suggests a general lack of interest in the mob scene of the region’s heads of government gathered to discuss economic issues. Those issues may just seem too abstract even if, in the long run, they affect everyone. That indifference may change after the top leaders get here later this week.

There are exceptions. An assistant foreign minister in Beijing, Wu Hailong, captured some attention Monday by telling the press: “It seems that the current goals put out by the U.S. side are too ambitious and beyond the reach of developing economies.”

“We hope that all parties will demonstrate flexibility; they need to pay attention to the different development stages of members of APEC, especially developing countries.” That was a variation on a Chinese argument that its economy is still in the developing stage and therefore needs special favors.

That report got picked up in Brunei, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

At the same time, the People’s Daily, which speaks for Beijing’s ruling Communist Party, gave prominent space to the journey of Premier Wen Jiabao to St. Petersburg for a meeting of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It is a security pact that includes Russia and several nations bordering on China.

Elsewhere, other issues grabbed the headlines. In Seoul, the Chosun Ilbo bannered a rumor that North Korea’s Kim Jong Il had died. The Joong Ang Ilbo looked ahead to a nuclear summit to be held in Seoul next March.

The largest-circulating Japanese newspaper speculated that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda would announce during the APEC meeting that Japan would join the negotiations over a Trans-Pacific Partnership to revise trade agreements.

In Manila were stories that President Benigno Acquino would attend the APEC convention but that former President Gloria Arroyo Macapagal would not be allowed to leave the country for medical treatment.

The Vietnam News Agency reported that President Troung Tan Sang would fly to Seoul to visit South Korea, then to Honolulu. Next door, the Thai government disclosed that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would not come to Honolulu because she must oversee efforts to cope with massive floods.

Malaysian papers seemed more aware of APEC than most. The New Straits Times carried articles on the relevance of the organization and quoted sources who urged APEC to support small and medium enterprises.

The Straits Times in Singapore, which was host to APEC meetings in 1999 and 2009 and is the site of the APEC secretariat, ignored the 2011 meeting. Rather, it carried a piece reporting that Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, called on the U.S. to stand up to China more firmly.

The Indonesia press brushed by the APEC 2011 meeting in favor of stories about APEC 2012 in Vladivostok and especially on APEC 2013 in Bali. The Jakarta Post reported that President S.B. Yudhoyono was eager to use that gathering to improve Indonesia’s international image.

In the Americas, the Toronto Globe and Mail disclosed a Wilileaks message asserting the Prime Minister Stephen Harper was irritated by the need to travel abroad twice in November. One trip would be to Honolulu for APEC and then another to Beijing. The Chinese refused to schedule Harper’s visit either right before or after APEC.

The Mexican press gave little attention to APEC even though President Felipe Calderon was scheduled to meet with President Obama and Prime Minister Harper on the sidelines. It would be their first meeting in two years.

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was outspoken, like many of her compatriots. Earlier this year, she said she was “living in fear” that she would be forced to attend the APEC conference because of the traditional photo in what she called “funny shirts.”