The APEC meeting in Papua New Guinea has ended in disarray, with regional leaders unable to reach a consensus on trade and deciding not to issue their usual joint communique.

Key points: Instead of leaders issuing a joint statement, PNG will issue a chairman's statement

Instead of leaders issuing a joint statement, PNG will issue a chairman's statement China said some of the trade issues brought up at APEC were better addressed by WTO members

China said some of the trade issues brought up at APEC were better addressed by WTO members Mike Pence said the US had differences with China, beginning with trade practices

Officials from China and the US clashed over whether the communique should include language which criticised Beijing's trade practices, as well as the World Trade Organisation.

Papua New Guinea will instead issue a "chairman's statement", Zhang Shaogang, director-general of China's international department at the Ministry of Commerce said.

Conflicting visions for the region had made it difficult to draft a summit communique, PNG Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato said, as the United States and China revealed competing ambitions for the region.

Director general of China's Department of International Economic Affairs, Wang Xiaolong, said the agreement among the leaders was to authorise the Papua New Guinea chairmanship to issue a joint statement reflecting the consensus and agreement among the various members.

"It [the multilateral trading system] is not exactly a sticking point between any particular two countries," he said.

"I think in the discussions a lot of economies made their comments on the issue of the development of the multilateral trading system, as well as how to strengthen and improve the functioning of the world trade centre," he said.

The China and US delegations failed to reach a consensus on trade. ( AP: Mark Schiefelbein )

"Frankly speaking, we are in the very early stage of those discussions. Different countries have different ideas about how to take that process forward and I think there will be a process of consensus building as we go along.

"Hopefully those discussions will crystallise into more concrete outcomes."

But he said some of the trade issues were beyond the scope of APEC.

"APEC is a regional economic forum. Those issues related to WTO (World Trade Organisation) will have to be discussed and decided on the basis of a broad-based process and with the involvement of countries and economies beyond the APEC region, because at the end of the day what happens to the WTO has to be decided by the full WTO membership," he said.

One of the WTO issues that was debated was whether to limit support to state-owned enterprises.

"Many leaders flagged their support for WTO for a strengthened role of the organisation and of course this a general recognition that we might work together to improve its functioning on the basis of preserving the core values and basic principles of the organisation," Mr Wang said.

"Like the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries.

"That is one of the key corner stones of the WTO edifice."

The 'entire world is worried'

The 21 nations at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby struggled to bridge differences on the role of the WTO, which governs international trade.

US Vice President Mike Pence (pictured) and China's President Xi Jinping traded barbs in speeches on Saturday. ( AP: Mark Schiefelbein )

"The entire world is worried" about tensions between China and the US, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said.

US Vice-President Mike Pence and China's President Xi Jinping traded barbs in speeches on Saturday.

Mr Pence professed respect for Mr Xi and China but also harshly criticised the world's second biggest economy for intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and unfair trading practices.

Mr Pence told reporters that during the weekend he had two "candid" conversations with Mr Xi, who is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at a G20 summit at the end of this month in Buenos Aires.

"There are differences today — they begin with trade practices, with tariffs and quotas, forced technology transfers, the theft of intellectual property," Mr Pence aid.

"It goes beyond that to freedom of navigation in the seas, concerns about human rights."

The US is interested in a better relationship "but there has to be change" from China's side, Mr Pence said he told Mr Xi, who responded that dialogue was important.



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