Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit ends without conclusion

The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), held in Papua New Guinea, ended without any statements being issued. This is the first time that APEC has issued no formal written statement since the leaders in Asia-Pacific started the meeting in 1993. The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill, blamed US and China for the discord. US Vice President, Mike Pence, warned nations against taking China’s massive Belt-and-Road infrastructure programme, which sees Beijing offer money to poorer countries for construction and development projects. While Chinese President Xi Jinping said that implementing tariffs and breaking US supply chains was ‘short-sighted’ and ‘doomed to failure’.