US Vice President Mike Pence traded sharp barbs with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in back-to-back speeches at the APEC summit, showing that neither nation appears to be giving ground in an escalating trade dispute.
Xi on Saturday received applause when he told the summit in Papua New Guinea that implementing tariffs and breaking up supply chains was “short-sighted” and “doomed to failure.”
He called for a stronger WTO and defended his signature Belt and Road Initiative, saying it is “not a trap as some people have labeled it.”
Speaking moments later, Pence told delegates the US offers nations in the region “a better option’’ for economic and diplomatic relations than Beijing’s heavy-handed approach.
He warned against taking Chinese loans, saying the US “doesn’t drown our partners in a sea of debt” nor offer “a constricting belt or a one-way road.”
The back-and-forth on a cruise ship docked in Port Moresby, the capital, suggested the world’s biggest economies remained far from a deal to end a damaging trade spat, even after US President Donald Trump said he was optimistic about a resolution.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet in a few weeks at a G20 summit in Buenos Aires.
Trump on Friday last week told reporters that the Chinese response to US’ trade demands was largely complete, but was missing four or five big issues. Those comments helped US stocks erase losses, as investors bet on whether Trump would impose even more tariffs on Chinese goods than the US$250 billion already in place.
China has slapped tariffs on US$110 billion of imports from the US in retaliation.
On Saturday, Pence warned that Trump could still put more tariffs on China.
“We hope for better, but the United States will not change course until China changes its ways,” Pence said.
Later, Pence told reporters he was “very hopeful” the US and China could reach a deal, but “things have to change” for that to happen.
“We’re in a very strong position,’’ Pence said when asked whether there was a deadline to end the trade dispute. “The American people know that we have to do something to reset this relationship with China economically. So, I don’t think there’s a timetable.”
Xi gave no indication of giving in on some key US demands, including an end to technology transfers, support for state-run enterprises and giving up on its “Made in China 2025” plan to lead the world in key industries.
He said intellectual property rights are important to protect innovation, but they should not widen the digital gap between nations.
Xi also made a veiled reference to a new grouping known as “the Quad” that aims to counter China’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Consisting of the US, Japan, India and Australia, the group met in Singapore for the third time this week to discuss ways to cooperate.
“Attempts to form exclusive blocs or impose one’s will on others should be rejected,” Xi said. “History has shown that confrontation, whether in the form of a cold war, a hot war or a trade war, will produce no winners.”
China’s growing military prowess and debt-fueled economic aid to smaller nations has increased concerns that it could seek a base for its armed forces in the Pacific or Indian oceans.
The nation’s growing influence in Papua New Guinea was on display in Port Moresby: dozens of red Chinese flags line a new six-lane highway built by China, while a giant billboard shows Xi shaking hands with Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
Pence on Saturday said the US would partner with Papua New Guinea and Australia in redeveloping the Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island.
Still, while US allies such as Australia welcome its firepower in the region, they also worry about its tactics on trade.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison used his speech at APEC to strongly criticize the US-China trade dispute, while inviting other nations to participate in a revamped Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“Tit-for-tat protectionism and threats of trade wars are in no one’s interests economically, and undermine the authority of the global and regional trading rules that benefit us all,” Morrison said.
Trump’s withdrawal from the TPP last year and his push for bilateral trade deals are causing concern among allies, said Ashley Townshend, director of the foreign policy and defense program at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
“By withdrawing from multilateral trade agreements and pursuing unilateral tit-for-tat tariffs that are damaging not just for the US and China, but for the broader regional and global trading system, the Trump administration is putting itself at odds with America’s Asian allies and partners,” he said. “That’s the concern.”
Pence is representing Trump at the summits after the president opted not to attend — becoming the first US head of state to skip the marquee Asian conferences since 2013.
Pence sought to reassure nations that are concerned that the US-China dispute “will hurt the region economically.’’
He said the US was working to improve relations with Beijing and pointed to Trump’s upcoming meeting with Xi as an opportunity for progress.
“We believe that progress could be made between our two nations, even as the United States remains in a strong position,” Pence said.
Meanwhile, Xi said talks would only work if both sides treated each other with respect.
“If countries can only treat each other equally and understand each other, there will be no issues that can’t be settled by negotiation,” Xi said.
The 75th anniversary summit of NATO was held in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday last week. Its main focus was the reinvigoration and revitalization of NATO, along with its expansion. The shadow of domestic electoral politics could not be avoided. The focus was on whether US President Biden would deliver his speech at the NATO summit cogently. Biden’s fitness to run in the next US presidential election in November was under assessment. NATO is acquiring more coherence and teeth. These were perhaps more evident than Biden’s future. The link to the Biden candidacy is critical for NATO. If Biden loses
Shortly after Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) stepped down as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, his successor, Xi Jinping (習近平), articulated the “Chinese Dream,” which aims to rejuvenate the nation and restore its historical glory. While defense analysts and media often focus on China’s potential conflict with Taiwan, achieving “rejuvenation” would require Beijing to engage in at least six different conflicts with at least eight countries. These include territories ranging from the South China Sea and East China Sea to Inner Asia, the Himalayas and lands lost to Russia. Conflicts would involve Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Japan and the Philippines on Monday signed a defense agreement that would facilitate joint drills between them. The pact was made “as both face an increasingly assertive China,” and is in line with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s “effort to forge security alliances to bolster the Philippine military’s limited ability to defend its territorial interests in the South China Sea,” The Associated Press (AP) said. The pact also comes on the heels of comments by former US deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, who said at a forum on Tuesday last week that China’s recent aggression toward the Philippines in
The Sino-Indian border dispute remains one of the most complex and enduring border issues in the world. Unlike China’s borders with Russia and Vietnam, which have seen conflicts, but eventually led to settled agreements, the border with India, particularly the region of Arunachal Pradesh, remains a point of contention. This op-ed explores the historical and geopolitical nuances that contribute to this unresolved border dispute. The crux of the Sino-Indian border dispute lies in the differing interpretations of historical boundaries. The McMahon Line, established by the 1914 Simla Convention, was accepted by British India and Tibet, but never recognized by China, which