PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea—A summit of world leaders ended in acrimony Sunday with the host nation accusing Chinese officials of threatening behavior and differences between the U.S. and China preventing delegates from reaching a consensus on trade, security and investment.
Chinese officials demanding a meeting with Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister forced their way into his office Saturday and had to be escorted away by police after a confrontation, according to two senior officials from the host country. China denied the incident happened, dismissing the accounts as “malicious rumors,” and local police didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The midlevel Chinese officials had sought the meeting to voice their unhappiness with the draft language of a proposed statement, an official briefed on the episode said.
The exchange capped a tense weekend at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby, dominated by disagreements between the U.S. and China. Papua New Guinea has been the subject of a Chinese charm offensive as Beijing attempts to lure small Pacific nations away from their traditional Western aid partners through infrastructure loans and investment.
For the first time in the summit’s 29-year history, officials ended two days of meetings without issuing a communiqué, with Papua New Guinea’s leader delivering only his summary of failed talks. “You all know who the two big giants in the room were, so what can I say,” Prime Minister Peter O’Neill told reporters.
A senior Trump administration official said Sunday that the dispute largely came down to a single proposed sentence: “We agreed to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices.”
China wouldn’t agree to that language, believing it amounted to a “singling out” of Chinese trade practices, the U.S. official said. All other 20 APEC nations favored including the language in the final communiqué, the official said.
It wasn’t “China vs. the U.S. that torpedoed the leaders’ statement,” so much as it was “China versus all the other members of APEC,” the official said.
On Saturday, China’s President Xi Jinping clashed with the U.S. over trade and security, calling on officials to “reject arrogance and prejudice,” as Beijing and Washington vie for global influence.
Vice President Mike Pence, traveling in Asia over the past week, cautioned that China poses a threat to the sovereignty and status of smaller nations. In Singapore on Thursday, Mr. Pence had a candid private exchange with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Walking back to their seats after a summit photo, Mr. Li told the vice president that China was still “a developing country,” another U.S. administration official said. Mr. Pence, pointing to China’s trade practices, told Mr. Li: “Things have to change.”
The clash between the world’s two largest economies spilled into a closed-door leaders meeting in Papua New Guinea on Sunday.
President Xi didn’t name the U.S., but spoke of “unilateralism” and “protectionism,” the U.S. official said, an apparent critique of President Trump’s policies. Mr. Pence made no apologies and said the U.S. “will continue to take actions to hold nations accountable for their unfair economic practices, such as tariffs, quotas and other policies that…stand in the way of commerce.”
The apparent confrontation with Papua New Guinea officials fits a pattern—becoming more pronounced as China steps up its international engagement—of Beijing demanding overt submission to its interests in exchange for trade and investment. In September, Chinese representatives clashed with officials in the tiny nation of Nauru after border authorities refused to accept their diplomatic passports at a meeting of Pacific leaders on the island. Nauru is one of six states in the region to recognize Taiwan instead of Beijing.
“They can often be their own worst enemies. Their engagement in the region is already characterized as being quite aggressive, and that’s often mirrored by their diplomats,” said Jonathan Pryke, director of the Sydney-based Lowy Institute’s Pacific program.
The move may also be linked to the domestic political environment in China, where officials are under increasing pressure to deliver results to impress Mr. Xi, amid concern in Beijing that his signature Belt and Road global infrastructure initiative may be stumbling.
“Those with ulterior motives are spreading malicious rumors to damage relations between Papua New Guinea and China,” Wang Xiaolong, international economics director at China’s foreign ministry, said Sunday.
China has gone to great lengths to cast itself as a friend of Papua New Guinea, which has poor infrastructure and massive development needs. Hundreds of Chinese flags line a new six-lane highway built by China that leads to the country’s Parliament building.
The South Pacific, home to important shipping lanes and fisheries, is again in strategic calculations as China modernizes its military and expands its economic clout. China’s actions have alarmed the U.S. and its allies, concerned that island nations could face a growing debt burden to Beijing.
The U.S. and its allies are increasingly countering Beijing’s overtures. On Sunday, Papua New Guinea signed an agreement with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the U.S. that aims to connect 70% of its population to electricity by 2030. Currently only about 13% of Papua New Guinea’s population have reliable power.
The announcement is the first under a trilateral partnership signed this month between the U.S., Japan and Australia to invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region. Mr. Pence said Sunday the project “meets the genuine needs of the people of Papua New Guinea and avoids unsustainable debt burdens.”
“While our overall dollars are still comparatively small, it’s about time we at least tried to match Beijing’s regional largess,” said Sean King at Park Strategies, a business advisory firm managed by former U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato. “We have a free and open strength in numbers that illiberal Beijing does not.”
Mr. Pence, speaking to reporters before leaving Papua New Guinea, said he twice spoke privately—briefly and candidly—to Mr. Xi during the APEC summit. Coming into the meeting, Mr. Pence’s aides said neither side had sought a formal meeting.
“I reiterated that they need to open up their markets,” said Mr. Pence, who has repeatedly warned of “aggression” and “empire” in the region—an implicit reference to China’s behavior. He added that “President Trump believes that a [trade] deal is possible but we also believe we’re in a very strong position.”
On Friday, Chinese officials also upset the hosts by denying journalists access to a meeting between the Mr. Xi and Pacific leaders, despite an official invitation for them to attend.
In a less heavy-handed approach, Australian officials wooed Pacific leaders Sunday with a barbecue. On the menu: Kangaroo sausages and barramundi, a white-fleshed fish native to Australia’s northern tropical waters and the Indo-Pacific.
—Chuin-Wei Yap contributed to this article.
Write to Rob Taylor at rob.taylor@wsj.com, Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com and Rachel Pannett at rachel.pannett@wsj.com
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