U.S. President Donald Trump will “present the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region” in a speech in Da Nang, Vietnam on November 10, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEOs meet, the White House said on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump’s visit to the region — from November 3 to 14 — will be the longest by a U.S President in 25 years, and will “underscore the long-standing U.S commitment to the region”, a senior administration official said. Mr. Trump will travel to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, and this will be the largest number of countries covered by a U.S. President in a single trip to the region, since George W. Bush in 2003.
The official said Mr. Trump’s visit will make the “message clear to China that for trade relations between the two countries to be sustainable, it has to be free and fair”.
“It is very important to note that the President is making a long term commitment to the region, based on the shared principles of rules-based, high-standard, economic system and reduction of chronic trade deficits,” the official said.
Market principles
The official repeatedly said that countries in the Indo-Pacific region must stick to an economic system based on “market principles”, and accused China of undermining principles of market.
At the recent congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese President Xi Jinping had asked countries to emulate the Chinese model of development, and shun Western liberalism.
“China must provide fair and reciprocal treatment, not just to the U.S. but all countries in the region”, the official said, accusing Beijing of “predatory investment and economic practices”. He said China’s unwillingness to do so “reflects a slowdown, or even a retreat in China’s progress toward a market driven economy”.
The official said the Chinese economy has become so big that its practices are negatively impacting not only the U.S. but all other countries in the region. The President will press China on these issues, the official said.
