US-China divisions dominate APEC summit

PORT MORESBY (Reuters) – The United States and China exchanged ideas on trade, investment and regional security at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Saturday, with growing lines of members suggesting little prospect of consensus.

Mike Pence, US Vice President, said in a speech to China that US tariffs would no longer be threatened until China changed its behavior after its chairman, Xi Jinping, warned that protectionism and unilateralism threatened global growth.

Illustrating the impasse in the two largest economies, a diplomat involved in negotiating a statement by APEC leaders told Reuters that trade was a stumbling block and that host country was struggling to find acceptable language for all.

Mr. Pence was directly interested in Xi's flagship program, Belt and Road, which China is promoting with the Pacific countries in APEC, saying that countries should not accept debt that compromises their sovereignty.

"We do not have a constrictor belt or a one-way street," Pence told APEC business leaders, a precursor to the official leaders meeting on a cruise liner in Port Moresby, in the port of Fairfax.

China's efforts to win friends in the Pacific, rich in natural resources, have been cautiously watched by traditionally influential powers in the region – Australia and the United States.

US President Donald Trump will not attend the APEC meeting, any more than his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Xi, who is staying in Port Moresby, has been hailed by PNG officials and sparked concern in the west of the country during a meeting with leaders of the Pacific Islands, during from which he launched the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Expressing in front of Pence, Xi said that there was no geopolitical agenda unveiled in 2013 and that it was aimed at strengthening a network of land and sea links with Asia. Southeast, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

"It does not exclude anyone. This is not an exclusive club closed to non-members, nor a trap as some people have tagged it. "

Mr Pence pointed out that some feared that small countries that join infrastructure projects will end up with a debt burden that they could not serve.

"Do not accept external debt that could compromise your sovereignty. Protect your interests. Keep your independence. And as in America, always give priority to your country, "he said.

Sri Lanka officially divested its commercial activities in its main southern port, Hambantota, to a Chinese company last December, as part of a plan to convert equity-based loans to $ 50,000. $ 6 billion Sri Lanka owed to China.

Shortly after Mr Pence's speech, Australia announced that it would join the United States and Japan in a partnership that would help countries in the region to set infrastructure priorities. possible alternative to the belt and road of China.

REGIONAL SECURITY

Pence also said that the United States would join Australia to help Papua New Guinea build a naval base on its Manus Island, which was an American base of World War II.

This plan comes after China has become a potential developer of the deepwater port. According to analysts, it could affect the West's ability to navigate the Pacific while offering China a site close to the US bases in Guam.

"The United States of America will continue to defend the freedom of the seas and skies, which are so vital to our prosperity," said Mr. Pence.

In a meeting that could irritate Beijing, Pence spoke with Taiwan APEC envoy Morris Chang.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a lost province of "one China", ineligible for state-to-state relations, and has never given up the use of force to place the island under its control.

Despite the lack of diplomatic recognition of Taiwan by most countries, APEC allows it to participate as an economic rather than a political entity.

DOUBLE RATES?

There were differences between other APEC members, some calling for a radical change in trading systems, others to a return to the status quo on globalization.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad warned that globalization is leaving some people behind and fueling inequality.

"The benefits of free and fair trade and economic integration have been broken, as evidenced by Brexit and trade wars," said Mahathir.

But Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended free trade by claiming that one billion people had been out of extreme poverty since 1991 because of the jobs and cheaper products generated by free trade. -exchange.

"Our efforts must be aimed at persuading and reasserting our peoples of benefits for the country," said Morrison.

Xi told delegates that the shadow of "protectionism and unilateralism" was weighing on global growth and that erecting barriers and cutting ties were short-sighted and doomed to the future. 39; failure.

But Pence said the United States would not back down, saying it could more than double the $ 250 billion worth of Chinese goods subject to tariffs.

"The United States will not change course as long as China does not change its behavior," said Pence.

Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet at a G20 meeting in Argentina at the end of the month, raising hopes that trade tensions could ease.

Trump urges China to reduce its huge bilateral trade surplus and radically change its policy on trade, technology transfer and subsidies to high-tech industries.

China has denied that US companies are forced to transfer technology and considers that US demand to reverse its industrial policies is an attempt to curb China's economic growth.

Sebastián Piñera, president of Chile, who will host APEC next year, called on the two powers to find a resolution.

"This is a very good opportunity to ask the United States and China to find ways to end their tariff and trade war that benefits no one and ultimately hurts all countries." , did he declare.

"Both countries will have to change course."