Asia-Pacific leaders yesterday failed to bridge gaping divisions over trade at a summit dominated by a war of words between the US and China as they vie for regional influence.
For the first time in the group’s history, APEC leaders were unable to agree on a formal written declaration amid sharp differences between the world’s top two economies over the rules of global trade.
“You know the two big giants in the room. What can I say?” host and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said, conceding defeat.
Photo: AFP
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the failure came down to “different visions on particular elements with regard to trade that prevented full consensus.”
A US official familiar with the talks said China balked at some language related to trade. At issue was a pledge by the governments to fight “all” unfair practices, which China objected to including in the statement, said the official, who asked not to be identified as the discussions were private.
The 20 other nations endorsed the language, the official said.
O’Neill indicated that the WTO had been a sticking point in agreeing on a joint communique.
“APEC has got no charter over the World Trade Organization. That is a fact,” he said. “Those matters can be raised at the World Trade Organization.”
O’Neill denied it was a humiliation for his country, which was hosting the annual gathering of the 21 nations for the first time. He said a formal APEC statement would be released at a later date.
As tensions boiled over, police were called when Chinese officials attempted to “barge” into the Papua New Guinean foreign minister’s office on Saturday in an 11th-hour bid to influence the summit’s communique, three sources with knowledge of the situation said.
“Police were posted outside the minister’s office after they tried to barge in,” one source said on condition of anonymity.
The minister had refused to meet with the delegates, another source said, adding: “It’s not appropriate for the minister to negotiate solo with the Chinese. The Chinese negotiating officials know this.”
The minister yesterday tried to downplay the incident, telling reporters “there wasn’t an issue.”
However, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Wang Xiaolong (王小龍) denied the incident occured, telling reporters: “It’s not true. It’s simply not true.”
Even before the summit started, tensions between the two big hitters came to the fore with US Vice President Mike Pence and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) crossing swords in competing speeches.
“I spoke to President Xi twice during the course of this conference. We had a candid conversation,” Pence told reporters yesterday.
He told him the US is interested in a better relationship with China, “but there has to be change” in Beijing’s trade policies.
With fears that a trade war between the two rivals could cripple the Pacific Rim economy, some attendees voiced concern about the growing rivalry for influence.
“Business leaders do not want to speak out, but behind the scenes here, they are talking over dinner saying: ‘How has this happened?’” Digicel chairman Denis O’Brien said. “It’s a very forced situation, one country is trying to force all the other countries to change tariffs agreed over years.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS