President Trump’s team will “oppose” China’s effort to dominate the Indo-Pacific through a model of “partnership economics” offered as an alternative to the Communist power’s predatory lending to its neighbors, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged Monday.
“The great theme of our engagement is this: Where America goes, we seek partnership, not domination,” Pompeo said at a Chamber of Commerce event devoted to the region. “The United States of America does not invest for political influence, but rather practices partnership economics.”
Pompeo’s speech opened a forum attended by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, American business leaders and international diplomats. The administration hopes the event will demonstrate the U.S. commitment to the region while showcasing their plan for economic engagement following the withdrawal from a major trade deal and a resurgence of tariffs. Chinese efforts to purchase political power through strategic international investments was the clear spur for the administration.
“Like so many of our Asian allies and friends, the United States fought for its own independence from an empire that expected deference,” Pompeo said. “We thus have never and will never seek domination in the Indo-Pacific, and we will oppose any country that does.”
China has gained control of one strategically significant port in Sri Lanka by financing its construction of the port and then taking over when the South Asian island country struggled to repay $1 billion in debt. That outcome plays into the Trump administration’s critique that China’s vaunted Belt and Road Initiative — in which the regime offers as much as $1 trillion cumulatively to finance infrastructure projects around the world — amounts to a “predatory” use of loans to undermine their neighbors’ sovereignty.
“Our good faith as a partner is evident in our support support for economic development that honors local autonomy and national sovereignty,” Pompeo said.
The Chinese have eased those concerns through the appeal of readily accessible funding, another advantage Pompeo sought to offset. He announced that a new plan to spend $113 million on energy and cybersecurity initiatives in the region, in addition to an “infrastructure transaction and assistance network to boost the development of infrastructure done right.”
Pompeo’s proposals don’t amount a dollar-for-dollar competition with China. He cited estimates that Indo-Pacific countries need $26 trillion of infrastructure by 2030 to underscore the need for investment from American companies.
“No government, no combination of governments, has that kind of money — only the private sector does,” he said. “And only if countries make themselves welcoming to private investment will those trillions of dollars get off the sidelines, into their economies, and into productive enterprises that bring jobs and prosperities to their peoples.”
American intelligence officials assess that China is in “a cold war” with the United States, one fundamental enough to be “a systems conflict.” Pompeo hinted at the need for private funding as a way of encouraging Indo-Pacific countries to choose an American-style system. “For that [investment] to happy, Indo-Pacific leaders must prioritize transparency, anti-corruption, and responsible financing,” he said. “The U.S. government’s Indo-Pacific initiatives will be shaped by these values and buttressed by partnerships with American companies.”
Pompeo cited a series of American partners, including Japan and South Korea, who have benefited from U.S. support. Pointedly, he noted also Hong Kong and Taiwan — two largely autonomous regions that China claims. Pompeo touted U.S. aid to Taiwan for planting the seeds of a “democratic society that blossomed into a high-tech powerhouse,” even though China regards the island as a breakaway province.
“We aspire to a regional order — independent nations that can defend their people and compete fairly in the international marketplace,” Pompeo said. “We will help them. We will help them keep their people free from coercion or great power domination.”
