Washington, Jan. 19 (Reuters) reported that the top U.S. policy official in charge of China said on Wednesday that Washington hopes to establish a "common goal" of economic cooperation with countries in the "Indo-Pacific" region in early 2022. The U.S. move comes against the backdrop of Washington's attempt to counter Beijing's influence in the region.
U.S. President Joe Biden told Asian leaders last October that Washington would launch talks to establish an "Indo-Pacific" economic framework. But few details have surfaced, and the Biden administration has avoided rejoining trade deals that critics believe threaten U.S. jobs.
Laura Rosenberg, the White House's senior director of China affairs, said at a webinar that discussions with partners in recent months had helped "clarify" the vision of how the administration could implement the framework.
Speaking at a think tank event for the U.S. National Bureau of Asian Research, Rosenberg said: "Our initial ideas for the proposed areas of economic cooperation include trade facilitation, digital economy standards, supply chain resilience, infrastructure, decarbonization and clean energy, export controls, taxation and anti-corruption. ”
"We will continue to focus on establishing common goals, which we will jointly announce in the coming months, early 2022," she said. But she didn't give details.
She said the dialogue about the different dimensions of the framework "will move forward at different paces."
She said she had nothing new to say about the Biden administration's views on the Trump administration's withdrawal from the regional trade framework, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. But she believes it is important to promote regional freedom and openness and protect American workers. Critics argue that U.S. accession to the trade framework poses a threat to American workers.
U.S. officials, she said, "all feel a general sense of urgency" to put the United States in the best position to compete with China.
As Biden sought to use his relationships with allies and partners to counter what Washington saw as Beijing's growing economic and military "coercion," U.S.-China relations fell to a decades-long low.
Some countries in the Indo-Pacific region, many of which see China as their largest trading partner, expressed disappointment at the lack of economic engagement with the United States.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gu Wanquan Text Editor: Lu Xiaochuan Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Cao Liyuan
Source: Author: Informational Messages