US-China trade dispute leaves Asian forum without agreement

SYDNEY — The trade dispute between the United States and China has led to a standoff at a summit meeting of Pacific Rim leaders in Papua New Guinea, leaving the gathering of 21 nations without a joint closing statement on Sunday for the first time since the forum was founded.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, known as APEC, has not ended without a joint statement since 1989, when the forum was established in Australia. Experts said the stalemate would set up a high-stakes showdown at the Group of 20 conference in Argentina this month — which President Xi Jinping of China and President Donald Trump are expected to attend — while intensifying frustration among countries caught in the crossfire.

“The entire world is worried,” said Prime Minister Peter O’Neill of Papua New Guinea after he confirmed that only a summary of discussion would be issued, not a joint statement.

The disagreement concerned issues that have shaped the trade dispute between the United States and China for months.

Draft versions of the communique seen by The Associated Press showed that the United States wanted strong language condemning unfair trade practices like those that it says China regularly deploys, including restricting market access and pushing foreign companies to hand over valuable technology.

The Chinese delegation sought to reaffirm its opposition to what it says are protectionist and unilateralist practices by the United States, especially the U.S. trade tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods.

The opposing positions were staked out in stark terms on Saturday, with combative speeches by Xi and Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence doubled down on recent criticism of China’s geopolitical strategies and attacked the country’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative — an infrastructure plan financed by China that covers some 70 countries.

He urged Asian nations to work with the United States, which, he said, would not saddle them with debt, an issue some countries are facing as a result of their partnerships with Beijing.

Xi, speaking before Pence, insisted that the criticism was misguided, arguing that China’s infrastructure plan would be inclusive and beneficial.

“It will not close a door and create a small circle,” Xi said.