“Do not accept foreign debt that could compromise your sovereignty,” Mr Pence said.
In a rival message,President Xi said his country’s Belt and Road Initiative did not serve any hidden geopolitical agenda.
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“It is not targeted against anyone and it does not exclude anyone,” he said.
“Nor is it a trap,as some people have labelled it.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison played down the differences on trade,telling reporters on Sunday there was more progress than was being acknowledged.
"I think there is a lot more pragmatism going on here than people have been prepared to acknowledge in the commentary,"Mr Morrison said.
"There's a lot of movement under the water."
Hours later,Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed at a press conference that the countries had not agreed on a communique and there would instead be a statement from the chair of the meeting,Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.
Mr Morrison joined Mr Pence,New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to commit to a mammoth infrastructure program to connect 70 per cent of Papua New Guineans to electricity by 2030.
Only 13 per cent of the country has reliable electricity.
The leaders announced the funding with Mr O’Neill. Australia is expected to contribute $25 million in the first year towards what will be a multi-billion dollar plan.
In another alliance to cement ties with PNG,the US announced on Saturday that it would join Australia inredeveloping a naval base on Manus Island.
The Trump administration escalated its trade war with China at the Port Moresby summit,warning it could impose further trade barriers on Chinese exports.
“We put tariffs on $US250 billion in Chinese goods,and we could more than double that number,” Mr Pence said on Saturday.
“The United States,though,will not change course until China changes its ways.”