Slideshow ( 2 images )

PORT MORESBY (Reuters) - A Chinese official said on Sunday that Asia-Pacific leaders could not issue the traditional communique at the end of the regional APEC forum, held in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

PNG will instead issue a “chairman’s statement”, said Zhang Shaogang, director-general of China’s international department at the Ministry of Commerce.

Disagreement over the future of multilateral trade was a sticking point, PNG Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato told Reuters earlier.

(This version of the story corrects paraphrase of PNG foreign minister to clarify trade was a sticking point)