Biden makes it clear to China at the APEC summit: “Don’t leave the Pacific region”

politics

China and the US are both trying to expand their influence in the Indo-Pacific region. The crisis talks between competitors won’t change that, as the US President makes clear.

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US President Joe Biden has reaffirmed America’s claim to leadership in the Pacific region after meeting with China’s head of state Xi Jinping. “The United States is a Pacific power,” Biden said Thursday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. At their meeting on Wednesday, Xi asked him why the US was so involved in the Pacific region. The answer is: “Because we are a Pacific nation.” The USA ensured peace and stability in the region. “We are not going away,” he emphasized.

“The United States remains critical to the future of the region, and the region is more important to the United States of America than ever,” the Democrat said. His government has placed a particular focus on the Pacific region from day one. The economic potential there is “endless.”

APEC summit overshadowed by meetings between Biden and Xi

21 countries around the Pacific work together in the APEC group. In addition to the USA and China, these also include Russia, Japan and South Korea. Around 40 percent of the world’s population lives in the APEC countries. The bloc together generates around 60 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP).

This year’s APEC summit was overshadowed by Biden’s bilateral meeting with Xi on the sidelines. The presidents met outside San Francisco on Wednesday for the first time in a year for a lengthy discussion aimed at stabilizing strained relations between the world’s two largest economies. Xi also attends the APEC summit.

USA wants stable relationship with China despite differences

Biden once again assured that the goal was to shape competition between the USA and China responsibly. “This is what the world expects from us,” he emphasized. “And I promise you that we will do just that.”

Both countries have differences on different levels. But the USA did not want a conflict 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 USA and China, but for the entire world.

Biden has placed a particular foreign policy focus on the Indo-Pacific since taking office – also to counter China’s desire for power in the region. Roughly speaking, the Indo-Pacific refers to a region from the Indian to the northern Pacific Ocean, which includes most of Asia and extends to the west coast of the USA. (mt/dpa)

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