China blames "apologies" for lack of agreement at APEC, while US ties again | News from the world

BEIJING (Reuters) – A "summit" of "protectionism" has prevented a major Asia-Pacific summit from agreeing on a statement, said a top Chinese diplomat, viciously criticizing Washington and reinforcing the tone of China and the United States. links to a G20 meeting.

After months of wrangling over a damaging trade war, South China's and the US's contested support for Taiwan's claim, the presidents of both countries took a step back by phone call early in the morning. month.

While US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have expressed optimism about resolving their trade war ahead of the planned G20 meeting in Argentina late next week, relations have weakened again. The Asia-Pacific economic cooperation of the weekend (The APEC summit in Port Moresby was marked by an open disagreement, dominated by disputes between the United States and China on trade, security and would be the best investment partner in the region.

For the first time, the assembled leaders failed to agree on a joint communiqué in the context of the fierce war war.

The failure to reach a statement is "by no means accidental," state councilor Wang Yi, top diplomat of the Chinese government, said Monday in comments on the Foreign Ministry's website.

"It is mainly that individual economies have insisted on imposing their own texts on other parties, thus excusing protectionism and unilateralism, and not accepting reasonable modifications from the Chinese and other parties" said Wang, without citing any country, obliquely. reference to the United States.

"This practice has caused discontent in many economies, including China, and is clearly not in line with the consensus principle that APEC adheres to."

The consensus is where the value lies in APEC, Wang added.

"It is in the common interest of all parties and can not be ignored and abandoned."

On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the United States, whose summit delegation was headed by Vice President Mike Pence, had witnessed "an inferno of anger" at APEC, adding that the China had not gone "in a boxing ring".

Pence said the US would not retreat from the trade dispute and could even double its tariffs unless Beijing complies with US demands.

China on Monday explored the promise of $ 60 billion in development funding for what the Trump administration calls the Indo-Pacific region, a promise largely seen by Washington as a response to the broad road infrastructure plan. and road of Xi.

"We take note that some voices worry about whether the United States can honor its promises and if they only give their word," the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters. Foreign Geng Shuang, in response to a question.

"We hope these concerns will not materialize."

Trade between China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, has dragged financial markets down, as global stocks fell on Monday, in part because of continued tension.

In a bright spot, however, Walt Disney Co

received Monday the unconditional approval of China for its purchase agreement Twenty-First Century Fox

of entertainment, eliminating one of the last major obstacles she faced.

Trump has imposed tariffs of $ 250 billion on Chinese imports in order to impose concessions on a list of demands that would alter the terms of trade of both countries. China reacted by applying import duties on US products.

Washington wants Beijing to improve market access and intellectual property protection for US companies, eliminate subsidies to industry and reduce the trade deficit by $ 375 billion.

Last week, Reuters announced that China had sent a written response to US demands for far-reaching trade reforms, although a senior Trump administration official said it was unlikely that the negotiations between the two leaders lead to a decisive step forward.

It turned out that Trump and Xi had told senior advisers that they wanted to make a deal happen, Craig Allen, chairman of China's US and Chinese Affairs Council, told Reuters.

"This could be the basis for a ceasefire, a halt to new tariffs and an opportunity for further negotiations," Allen said of the planned meeting. of the G20. "But I do not think it's a slam dunk guaranteed."

(Report by Ben Blanchard, additional report by Michael Martina, edited by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez)

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