U.S. Indo-Pacific Trade Framework Doomed To Fail: China

Beijing has rejected Washington’s Indo-Pacific initiatives as tools to contain China that are “doomed to fail,” as US President Joe Biden unveiled the latest US strategy to step up regional engagement, Teddy Ng reported for the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Photo Insert: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a withering assessment that the US is creating division in the region ahead of Biden’s launch of a raft of Indo-Pacific economic initiatives.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s withering assessment that the US is creating division in the region came one day ahead of Biden’s launch of a raft of Indo-Pacific economic initiatives in Tokyo.

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) revolves around four pillars – supply chain resilience, infrastructure, clean energy, tax and anti-corruption, and trade – aimed at boosting US cooperation with Japan, Australia and India as part of the informal security alliance known as the Quad.

The Biden administration’s framing of IPEF as a tool to counter China’s regional clout is likely to find a sympathetic audience among members of the US Congress, where competition with Beijing remains a bipartisan area of concern, Bloomberg reported.

In talks with Pakistan’s new foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in Guangzhou on Sunday, Wang questioned if the IPEF was forcing countries to take sides between Washington and Beijing, by disrupting supply chains.

“Is the US trying to accelerate the recovery of the world economy, or is it creating economic decoupling, technological blockade, industrial chain disruption, and aggravating the supply chain crisis?”

Wang said. “A few years ago, the US launched the trade war with China, which brought serious consequences to the world and to the US. The lessons are profound. The US should know its mistakes and correct them, rather than repeating mistakes,” Kyodo News reported.

At the start of his meeting with Kishida, Biden said the new Indo-Pacific economic framework was intended as a pushback against an assertive China that would bring concrete benefits to the region.

He also said the US was fully committed to the defense of Japan, its long-time ally, and expressed appreciation for Tokyo standing up for democratic values in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kishida welcomed Biden’s visit as a demonstration of US commitment to the region, adding that the two allies needed to lead the world in ensuring a rules-based free, and open Indo-Pacific.

A Quad summit with the leaders of Japan, Australia, and India will take place on Tuesday. Biden’s trip coincides with escalating rivalry and tensions between China and the US – with Beijing warning against attempts by Washington to boost its alliances in the region, Reuters reported.

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