Biden emphasizes US claim to leadership in the Pacific region
Following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden emphasized America's claim to leadership in the Pacific region. "The United States is a Pacific power," said Biden at the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (Apec) in San Francisco.
Xi had asked him the day before why the USA was so involved in the Pacific region. The answer was: "Because we are a Pacific nation," said Biden. The USA was ensuring peace and stability in the region. "We are not going away." Both the USA and China are endeavoring to expand their influence in the region.
The Apec Group
21 countries around the Pacific work together in the Apec Group. In addition to the USA and China, these include Russia, Japan and South Korea. Around 40 percent of the world's population live in the Apec states. Together, the bloc accounts for around 60 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). The group aims to strengthen the economic growth of the 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."
The courting of investors
This year's Apec summit was overshadowed by Biden's bilateral meeting with Xi on the sidelines. The presidents met for the first time in a year on Wednesday at a property outside San Francisco for a lengthy discussion aimed at stabilizing the strained relations between the two largest economies. Xi also attended the Apec summit afterwards.
The competition between the US and China was once again evident at the group's meeting, as both countries were there to court the favor of major companies and investors from the other Apec states. Biden praised the US and its corporations there as business partners with high standards, fair practices, worker protection, world-class innovation and commitment to environmental protection.
Xi also promoted investment at the Apec summit and painted an extremely rosy picture of the state of the Chinese economy. He described the "socialist market economy" as the country's strength and said that China's economy had "steadily recovered and developed for the better" this year. This is according to a speech manuscript distributed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
In fact, China's economy has been lacking momentum recently. An upturn at the start of the year following the end of the strict coronavirus restrictions quickly tailed off again. People in China are consuming less and, on top of that, the crisis affecting large, highly indebted real estate developers is weighing on economic output.
Competition between the largest economies
With regard to China, Biden reiterated that the aim was to shape the competition between Washington and Beijing in a responsible manner. "That's what the world expects of us," he emphasized. "And I promise you that we will do exactly that." Both countries had differences. However, the USA 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 would not only be good for the USA and China, but for the whole world. Xi also assured that his country was not seeking conflict.
Since taking office, Biden has placed a special focus on the Indo-Pacific in terms of foreign policy - also to counter China's striving for power in the region. The US government has devoted so much time and space to no other region of the world in the past two years.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the region several times and rolled out the red carpet for many partners from there in return in Washington. The US President also revived several discussion formats with Asian partners. There were also various trips by his cabinet members to the Indo-Pacific region. Even in recent days, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have been on extended trips to Asia, despite the parallel feverish diplomatic efforts in the Middle East conflict.
Roughly speaking, the Indo-Pacific refers to a region from the Indian Ocean to the northern Pacific Ocean, encompassing most of Asia and extending to the west coast of the USA.
- At the Apec summit, President Joe Biden reiterated the United States' commitment to its leadership role in the Pacific region, stating, "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."
- During their meeting at the Apec summit, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the international cooperation within the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (Apec), with Biden emphasizing, "International organizations like Apec are crucial for addressing global challenges, and the United States is committed to working with all Apec members to promote economic growth and prosperity in the region."
Source: www.dpa.com
