The United States and China have swapped barbs over trade, investment and regional security at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit, as growing fault lines among members suggested little prospect of consensus at the weekend meeting.
Speaking Port Moresby on Saturday, US Vice President Mike Pence said there would be no end to American tariffs until China changed its ways, after its president, Xi Jinping, warned that the shadow of protectionism and unilateralism was hanging over global growth.
Pence took direct aim at Xi's flagship Belt and Road program, which China has been promoting to Pacific nations at APEC, saying countries should not accept debt that compromised their sovereignty.
"We do not a offer constricting belt or a one-way road," Pence told a summit of APEC chief executives, a precursor to the official leaders' meeting.
China's efforts to win friends in the resource-rich Pacific have been watched warily by the traditionally influential powers in the region - Australia and the United States.
Xi stoked Western concern when he held a private meeting with Pacific island leaders on Friday, where he pitched the Belt and Road initiative.
Speaking before Pence, Xi said there was no geopolitical agenda behind the Belt and Road plan, which was unveiled in 2013 and aims to bolster a sprawling network of land and sea links with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
"It does not exclude anyone. It is not an exclusive club closed to non-members, nor is it a trap as some people have labelled it."
There have been concerns that small countries that sign up for infrastructure projects will be left with debt burdens they cannot service, something Pence highlighted.
"Do not accept foreign debt that could compromise your sovereignty. Protect your interest. Preserve your independence. And just like America, always put your country first," he said, adding that the United States was a better investment partner.
