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Politico | The Asia-sized hole in Joe Biden’s trade agenda
- Southeast Asian nations are particularly eager to learn Biden’s plans for economic engagement in the region
- They were wrong-footed after Donald Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the US spent years negotiating it
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This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Doug Palmer on politico.com on June 23, 2021.
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US President Joe Biden is trying to lead on Asia without any firm plan to go to Asia this year.
The president’s dearth of travel to an economically and militarily important continent could hurt his administration’s efforts to present a strategic message for trade and alliances, leaving a vacuum that could be exploited by China. And five months into Biden’s presidency, the new administration’s plans for engaging the fast-growing region remains a mystery.
“As every Asian hand knows, 80 per cent of success in Asia is showing up,” said Matt Goodman, a former Obama White House official now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “Because we are a Pacific power, but not an Asian country, we have to demonstrate through our physical presence that we are committed to the region.”
After his closely followed European trip this month, those in both the business and the foreign policy sectors are concerned that Biden isn’t capitalising on that momentum as he tries to pull in allies to confront China on its trade and economic practices and other areas of concern such as human rights.
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“The key thing, frankly, is they need a very clear Asian economic strategy and plan, including with respect to China, and that seems to be something that they are in no hurry to generate,” said Charles Freeman, senior vice-president for Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce.
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