BANGKOK, Thailand—Vice President
Kamala Harris
and other senior Biden administration officials are using an Asian economic gathering to pursue closer business ties and press for higher environmental and labor standards in a part of the world where China has deep economic links.
Ms. Harris is leading the U.S. delegation at the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit that begins Friday in the Thai capital, Bangkok—the first time in four years the group is gathering. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken
and
Katherine Tai,
the U.S. trade representative, attended minister-level meetings on Thursday that, Ms. Tai said, brought momentum to U.S. economic efforts.
Many officials in the region say Washington hasn’t been willing to provide the level of infrastructure funding that China has or to lower trade barriers to its own economy. Former President
Donald Trump
pulled the U.S. out of an unratified 12-nation trade agreement aimed at putting pressure on China, and Congress and the Biden administration haven’t pursued re-entry into the pact.
Instead, Ms. Tai and other officials are developing the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which focuses on supply chains, clean energy, trade rules and corruption, as well as a partnership on global infrastructure development. Trade ministers from the 14 nations involved in the economic framework met in September in Los Angeles and will start a round of formal negotiations in December in Brisbane, Australia.
Part of the Biden administration’s strategy is for senior officials to show up frequently in the Asia-Pacific, especially in fast-growing Southeast Asian countries, to convey continued commitment to the region.
On Friday, Ms. Harris will outline in a speech what the administration calls a comprehensive economic agenda for the Indo-Pacific and will use the visit to “rally other economies around our vision for the future of the rules-based international economic order,” a senior administration official said.
President Biden wrapped up a five-day trip to the region on Wednesday after attending a Southeast Asia summit in Cambodia and the Group of 20 leading economies’ summit in Bali, Indonesia. G-20 leaders unanimously endorsed a declaration saying the war in Ukraine is hurting the global economy and called on nations to work together to untangle supply chains disrupted by war and the pandemic.
Expected to attend his granddaughter’s wedding in Washington on Saturday, Mr. Biden won’t attend the APEC gathering. Chinese leader
Xi Jinping,
who held talks with Mr. Biden in Bali that stretched over three hours, will attend the summit.
In a written statement to a business leadership conference on Thursday, Mr. Xi said the region needs to work together to build stable and unimpeded supply chains. Without naming the U.S., Mr. Xi criticized what he called “Cold War mentality,” unilateralism and protectionism and said those factors are disrupting economic linkages in Asia.
“Any attempt to politicize and weaponize economic and trade relations should also be rejected by all,” Mr. Xi said.
Ms. Tai didn’t respond to a question about Mr. Xi’s statement.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com and Keith Zhai at keith.zhai@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
BANGKOK, Thailand—Vice President
Kamala Harris
and other senior Biden administration officials are using an Asian economic gathering to pursue closer business ties and press for higher environmental and labor standards in a part of the world where China has deep economic links.
Ms. Harris is leading the U.S. delegation at the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit that begins Friday in the Thai capital, Bangkok—the first time in four years the group is gathering. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken
and
Katherine Tai,
the U.S. trade representative, attended minister-level meetings on Thursday that, Ms. Tai said, brought momentum to U.S. economic efforts.
Many officials in the region say Washington hasn’t been willing to provide the level of infrastructure funding that China has or to lower trade barriers to its own economy. Former President
Donald Trump
pulled the U.S. out of an unratified 12-nation trade agreement aimed at putting pressure on China, and Congress and the Biden administration haven’t pursued re-entry into the pact.
Instead, Ms. Tai and other officials are developing the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which focuses on supply chains, clean energy, trade rules and corruption, as well as a partnership on global infrastructure development. Trade ministers from the 14 nations involved in the economic framework met in September in Los Angeles and will start a round of formal negotiations in December in Brisbane, Australia.
Part of the Biden administration’s strategy is for senior officials to show up frequently in the Asia-Pacific, especially in fast-growing Southeast Asian countries, to convey continued commitment to the region.
On Friday, Ms. Harris will outline in a speech what the administration calls a comprehensive economic agenda for the Indo-Pacific and will use the visit to “rally other economies around our vision for the future of the rules-based international economic order,” a senior administration official said.
President Biden wrapped up a five-day trip to the region on Wednesday after attending a Southeast Asia summit in Cambodia and the Group of 20 leading economies’ summit in Bali, Indonesia. G-20 leaders unanimously endorsed a declaration saying the war in Ukraine is hurting the global economy and called on nations to work together to untangle supply chains disrupted by war and the pandemic.
Expected to attend his granddaughter’s wedding in Washington on Saturday, Mr. Biden won’t attend the APEC gathering. Chinese leader
Xi Jinping,
who held talks with Mr. Biden in Bali that stretched over three hours, will attend the summit.
In a written statement to a business leadership conference on Thursday, Mr. Xi said the region needs to work together to build stable and unimpeded supply chains. Without naming the U.S., Mr. Xi criticized what he called “Cold War mentality,” unilateralism and protectionism and said those factors are disrupting economic linkages in Asia.
“Any attempt to politicize and weaponize economic and trade relations should also be rejected by all,” Mr. Xi said.
Ms. Tai didn’t respond to a question about Mr. Xi’s statement.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com and Keith Zhai at keith.zhai@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8