After the Xi meeting: Biden emphasizes US leadership in the Pacific region

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“The United States is a power in the Pacific,” Biden said Thursday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. During the conversation the day before, Xi asked him why the US was so involved in the Pacific region. The answer is: “Because we are a Pacific nation,” Biden said. The US ensured peace and stability in the region. “We’re not leaving.” Both the US and China are trying to expand their influence in the region.

The Apec Group

21 countries around the Pacific Ocean work together in the APEC group. In addition to the US and China, these are also Russia, Japan and South Korea. About 40 percent of the world’s population lives in the APEC countries. The bloc together generates about 60 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). The group aims to strengthen the economic growth of member states in the Asia-Pacific region by reducing trade barriers.

Biden said the economic potential within the group is endless. “The United States remains critical to the future of the region, and the region is more important than ever to the United States of America.”

Courting investors

This year’s APEC summit was overshadowed by Biden’s bilateral meeting with Xi on the sidelines. The presidents sat in a building outside San Francisco for the first time in a year on Wednesday for a long talk aimed at stabilizing tense relations between the two largest economies. Xi then also attended the APEC summit.

The competition between the US and China was again evident during the group meeting, as both countries vied for the favor of major companies and investors from the other APEC countries. Biden praised the United States and its companies there as business partners with high standards, fair practices, worker protections, world-class innovation and commitment to environmental protection.

Xi also promoted investments at the APEC summit and painted an extremely rosy picture of the state of China’s economy. Describing the “socialist market economy” as the country’s strength, he said China’s economy had “steadily recovered and developed for the better” this year. This is evident from a speech manuscript distributed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In fact, China’s economy has lacked momentum recently. An upturn at the beginning of the year after the end of the strict Corona restrictions quickly faded away. People in China are consuming less and the crisis of large real estate developers with heavy debts is weighing on economic performance.

The competition between the largest economies

Regarding China, Biden once again assured that the goal was to shape the competition between Washington and Beijing in a responsible manner. “That is what the world expects from us,” he emphasized. “And I promise you we will do just that.” Both countries have differences. But the US did not want a conflict with China and had no intention of decoupling its economy from China’s. A stable relationship between the two largest economies is not only good for the US and China, but for the entire world. Xi also assured that his country is not seeking conflict.

Since taking office, Biden has placed a particular emphasis on the Indo-Pacific in terms of foreign policy – ​​also to counter China’s desire for power in the region. In no other region in the world has the US government devoted so much space and time to this over the past two years.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the region several times and in return rolled out the red carpet for many of their partners in Washington. The US president has also revived various forms of discussion with Asian partners. There were also several trips by his Cabinet members to the Indo-Pacific region. Even in recent days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have been on extended trips to Asia, despite parallel feverish diplomatic efforts in the Middle East conflict.

Broadly speaking, the Indo-Pacific refers to a region from the Indian to the North Pacific Oceans, encompassing most of Asia and extending to the west coast of the US.

(SDA)

Source: Blick