The announcement is one of the centerpieces of Biden’s visit to the continent, which began in South Korea last week and continues in Japan this week. Before revealing the Indo-Pacific economic framework, which his advisers refer to as IPEF, Biden will visit Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and sit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for bilateral talks, where security issues are likely to arise. China has loomed above each of Biden’s stops, a mostly unspoken but ever-present factor in his bid to reframe American foreign policy to focus more on Asia. When he meets with leaders of a revived “quad” group — the United States, Japan, India and Australia — on Tuesday, it will be with the tacit intent of countering Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence over its neighbors.
The economic framework pursues a similar goal. Since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership – the massive trade deal negotiated during the Obama presidency – the US has had no concrete plan to engage the region economically.
Meanwhile, China has signed several trade deals with its neighbors and is attempting to exert its economic influence globally through the Belt and Road Initiative.
The plan that Biden will announce on Monday is not a trade deal in the traditional sense. It includes a “pillar” related to trade, but also covers other areas such as supply chain resilience, promoting clean energy and fighting corruption.
By unveiling the framework, Biden appears to be acknowledging that he has little intention of rejoining the TPP, which remains unpopular with United States lawmakers who would need to ratify the deal. Instead, he hopes to create an economic space that can compete with China.
To do this, other countries must be persuaded to join – not only staunch partners like Japan and South Korea, but also smaller nations, particularly in Southeast Asia, that are not as closely aligned with the United States.
The plan’s early critics have indicated that it lacks any incentives – such as tariff cuts – in exchange for accession. Biden’s collaborators suggest that there are other ways to facilitate more trade and market access, and that the framework itself presents an attractive opportunity for participating countries to work closely with the United States. And if anything, Biden’s announcement on Monday reflects only the beginning of the process of writing the plan.
China has already reacted harshly to the framework, with a senior envoy calling it a “closed and exclusive clique.”
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden traveled to Japan from South Korea, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the criticism was expected.
“It doesn’t surprise me that China has concerns about the number of countries and the diversity of countries that have expressed interest and enthusiasm for IPEF,” he said. “It is natural that they will try to find ways to ask questions.”