Fresh off meeting with Xi, Biden turns attention to Asia-Pacific

SAN FRANCISCO (AP):

Fresh off his meeting with the leader of China, President Joe Biden addressed CEOs grappling with the risks to their businesses from world crises and spend time trying to persuade other Indo-Pacific leaders that the US is committed to nurturing economic ties throughout the region.

“We’ve got a few busy days ahead of us,” Biden said during a welcome reception, ticking off a list of concerns and challenges for the leaders to examine. “Our strongest tools to meet those challenges remain the same ... connection, cooperation, collective action and common purpose.”

Biden is courting world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and through his administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a group that includes most of the 21 APEC member economies and a few others, like India, that aren’t members of the larger forum.

The US hasn’t hosted the annual leaders’ summit – started in 1993 by President Bill Clinton – since 2011. The group met virtually in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Leaders did gather in Bangkok last year, but Biden skipped the summit because his granddaughter was getting married, and he sent Vice President Kamala Harris in his place.

The annual leaders’ conference brings together heads of nations and other top economic and diplomatic leaders. Biden told those who gathered Wednesday evening at a welcome party – including Russia’s representative, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk – that today’s challenges were unlike those faced by other APEC leaders.

“How we’re going to harness the potential of artificial intelligence to lift up the world, while minimising the risks and safety concerns of the present?” he asked. “Will we act, with the urgency necessary to dramatically curb carbon emissions and avert a climate catastrophe that threatens us all? Can supply chains be built that are more resilient and secure in the face of threats like natural disasters and pandemics?”

After decades of trade built on the premise of keeping prices low, accessing new markets and maximizing profits, many companies are now finding a vulnerable global economy. The Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts aren’t helping matters.

SUPPLY CHAIN FRAILTIES

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed frailties in their supply chains. Climate change has intensified natural disasters that can close factories. The Israel-Hamas war and Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion have generated new financial risks, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence could change how companies operate and displace workers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, too, met with American business leaders – at a $2,000-per-plate dinner Wednesday evening. It was a rare opportunity for US business leaders to hear directly from the Chinese leader as they seek clarification on Beijing’s expanding security rules that may choke foreign investment.

“China is pursuing high-quality development, and the United States is revitalising its economy,” he said, according to an English language translation. “There is plenty of room for our cooperation, and we are fully able to help each other succeed and achieve win-win outcomes.”

Biden and Xi understand that the complicated ties between the two nations have major global impacts. Their meeting Wednesday at a Northern California estate was in part an effort to show the world that while they are global economic competitors, the US and China aren’t full-fledged rivals.

With his characteristic optimism, Biden sketched a vision of leaders who manage competition “responsibly”, adding, “that’s what the United States wants and what we intend to do”.

Xi, though, was gloomier about the state of the post-pandemic global economy. China’s economy remains in the doldrums, with prices falling due to slack demand from consumers and businesses.

White House officials said Biden has been bolstered by signs the US economy is in a stronger position than China’s and that the US was building stronger alliances throughout the Pacific.

Part of those alliances is through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, announced during a May 2022 trip to Tokyo. It came six years after the US unilaterally withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that was signed by 12 countries.