U.S.-Chinese trade dispute throws wrench into APEC
Pacific Rim summit ends without consensus for first time since inception
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA— 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 countries without a joint closing statement on Sunday for the first time since the forum was founded.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, has not ended without a joint statement since 1989, when it 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 U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to attend — while intensify- ing frustration among countries caught in the crossfire.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among the first to make clear that the negotiations had not yielded a resolution.
“I don’t think it will come as a huge surprise that there are differing visions. Those prevented there from being a full consensus on the communiqué,” he said.
“The entire world is worried,” Prime Minister Peter O’Neill of Papua New Guinea said 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 U.S. and China for months.
Draft versions of the communiqué seen by The Associated Press showed that the U.S. wanted strong language condemning unfair trade practices like those that it claims China regularly deploys, including re- stricting market access and pushing foreign companies to hand over valuable technology. The Chinese delegation sought to reaffirm its opposition to what it says are protectionism and unilateralism practices by the U.S., especially 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 U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence.
Both men argued that their country had the best interest of the region at heart, battling for loyalty within a trade group that represents 60 per cent of the global economy.
But they also pushed each other toward conflict and escalation.
“It boils down to mutual intransigence between the U.S. and China,” said Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at the Australian National University.