TOYKO – President Biden began the second chapter of his diplomatic tour in Asia on Sunday, moving from reassuring allies to the threat posed by North Korea to uniting nations behind his administration’s new economic policy for the Indo-Pacific region.
During a three-day change in Japan, Mr. Biden will meet with a number of leaders – including those from Australia, India and Japan – as he launches a new economic program five years after the Trump administration pulled the United States out of a comprehensive trade pact known as The Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP
The plan seems to be the basis of Mr. Biden’s promise to engage with allies and consolidate American influence in the region, while opposing China. Although it will be much smaller than the TPP, Mr Biden’s aides said the new plan, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, would set standards for the digital economy, clean energy and the sustainability of the supply chain.
But the lack of clarity about the region’s economic approach, which Biden said was a priority of his foreign policy, has sparked skepticism among some allies. The administration has not yet said how many countries have signed the new co-operation agreement, while Beijing has stepped up criticism of the new policy.
“We expect, in addition to the countries that join the launch tomorrow, others to come in the coming months and years,” Jake Sullivan, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters on Sunday’s Air Force One. “This is an economic agreement focused on further integrating the Indo-Pacific economies, setting standards and rules, especially in new areas such as the digital economy, and trying to ensure that there are secure and sustainable supply chains.
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In Tokyo, Mr Sullivan said Taiwan would not be among those who sign the new agreement.
Mr Biden will have to persuade his allies to reject criticism from Beijing and sign the plan, although the administration is not expected to open up the United States market as part of the agreement.
“It will be difficult to persuade Asian governments to change the rules in ways that could be devastating to their political economies without promising greater access to the US market,” said Aaron Connelly, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. in Singapore.
Mr Biden’s arrival in Tokyo comes after a series of meetings with newly incumbent South Korean President Yun Suk-yol. The two leaders discussed a number of economic initiatives, including strategies to combat the semiconductor shortage that has led to rising prices. But the threat posed by North Korea loomed over a visit promoted by US officials in an attempt to reassure allies that the United States remains focused on opposing China.
North Korea has not yet conducted missile tests on Sunday, despite warnings from the Biden administration that it could do so while the president is in the south. Asked on Sunday if intelligence showed that the government in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, could still continue testing, including a nuclear device, Mr Sullivan said: “Oh, yes. Yes.”
But now the administration is moving to gather allies behind the Beijing challenge. While in Tokyo, Mr. Biden will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese, Australia’s newly elected Prime Minister, during the Quartet summit. growing concern about China’s military footprint in Asia and parts of the Indian Ocean. Mr Biden called Mr Olbanese, who was elected on Saturday to greet him.
But during his trip to South Korea, Mr. Biden also nodded about domestic policy priorities and issues. He visited Samsung’s semiconductor factory to show his administration’s focus on chip shortages, as well as unite Congress to pass legislation that will increase production.
After a private liturgy in Seoul on Sunday morning, Mr. Biden joined Hyundai’s management to celebrate the company’s plan to build a new facility for the production of electric vehicles and batteries in Savannah, Georgia.
Mr Biden said the facility would create 8,000 jobs, continuing the administration’s strategy to show job growth as Republican lawmakers step up attacks on rising inflation. “These investments are part of my administration’s trend,” Biden said, adding that it would help the White House meet its clean energy commitments. “Manufacturing jobs are returning to America.”
Mr Biden shaped the investment as a result of the work of his administration and Georgia Democrat senators Rafael Warnock and John Osof.
But just days earlier, the same company had sent a CEO to Georgia to stand next to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, to celebrate the investment. “This will continue to bring wealth and opportunities to the region,” Mr Kemp said.
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