Despite their diplomatic differences Xi Jinping, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were united in imperial purple for a group photo, with the visitor from Moscow given pride of place next to the host.
Mr Obama was also in the front row, a few places to Mr Xi's left, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - in green - was relegated to the back, next to New Zealand's John Key.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who as army chief seized power in a May 22 coup, was placed at the extreme right end of the first row away from any of Apec's major power brokers. The junta leader and his wife Naraporn were placed next to Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and in front of Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang.
Australia's Tony Abbott, who has threatened to "shirtfront" Mr Putin -- an Australian Rules Football term for charging an opponent -- over the downing of Malaysian Airlines MH17 in rebel-held Ukraine in July, was positioned directly behind the Russian, but smiled and waved.
The leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering were driven to the dinner venue - the glowing blue Water Cube that saw the swimming events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics -along a road glowing a rich nationalist Chinese red.
Hundreds of wildly cheering dancers dressed in the costumes of China's dozens of ethnic minorities lined the route with the surrounding area bathed in rippling greens, yellows and blues, in a visual echo of the Games' spectacular opening.
Most leaders arrived in blocky China-made "Red Flag" limousines, but Mr Obama stuck with his official ride, a hyper-secure vehicle known as "The Beast".
The "family photo" in the host country's traditional clothing is a fixture at the annual gathering.
This year's fashion choice was based on the "Mao suit" tunics once beloved by China's leaders, but given an elegant, silky look in lustrous purple, green or brown.
Female leaders wore long embroidered buttoned jackets, while the wives were clad in high-necked tunics draped with a loose jacket.
The tradition began when US President Bill Clinton handed out leather bomber jackets in Seattle in 1993. Leaders also donned blue-and-gold South Korean silk overcoats called durumagi in 2005, followed the next year by flowing silk ao dai tunics in Hanoi.
But in Peru, 2008 world leaders were pictured during the global financial crisis "wearing ponchos, smiling and waving" in costumes that unkind critics likened to potato sacks.
It was seen as "not really appropriate" in the circumstances, acknowledged Apec spokesman David Hendrickson, and the practice was quietly dropped.
But last year's host Indonesia revived it as its guitar-strumming president led a stylish parade of Balinese design, albeit for the welcome banquet dinner that spouses also attend, rather than the formal summit proceedings.
"There's a recovery there, or not quite there," Hendrickson said. "It's an interesting barometer of where things are in the economy."
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