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Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrive Saturday in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, for a family photo with the leaders and their spouses at the summit of the Economic Leaders' Meeting. ; APEC. | Mark Schiefelbein / AP Photo
Morning of South China
This story is published by POLITICO as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. He originally appeared on scmp.com on November 8, 2018.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice President Mike Pence exchanged remarks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Papua New Guinea, each blaming the trade war and increasing geopolitical rivalry at the gates of the country. other, while seeking to sell vision of a regional development strategy.
History continues below
In a nearly 40-minute speech, Xi urged businesses and political leaders in Port Moresby to defend free trade and promote a multilateral system.
"Unilateralism and protectionism will not solve the problems but will add uncertainty to the global economy," he said. "History has shown that confrontation, whether it's a cold war, a hot war or a trade war, produces no winners." . "
When it was his turn to get on the podium, Pence was just as fervent but much more direct in his critics.
"We have great respect for President Xi and China, but as we all know, China has been enjoying the United States for many, many years and these days are over," he said.
He then made several accusations in Beijing, including his insistence on the forced transfer of technology and the theft of intellectual property.
"The United States will not change course as long as China does not change its behavior," said Pence, adding that the White House still had the opportunity to introduce new tariffs on Chinese products.
Since July, Washington has imposed tariffs on Chinese imports worth $ 250 billion, while Beijing has imposed similar duties on goods imported from the United States valued at $ 110 billion. billions of dollars. In September, President Donald Trump threatened to extend tariffs to all products imported from China.
Neither Xi nor Pence listened to each other's speech, both spoken from a conference room on a cruise ship moored in Port Moresby Harbor.
Despite his hard line, Pence said Washington "believed that progress could be made" when Trump and Xi meet in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, at the end of the month, on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20. The talks will be the first between the two leaders since the beginning of the trade war.
In addition to expressing their grievances over trade, Xi and Pence were just as eager to promote their respective regional cooperation plans, respectively the Belt and Road Initiative and the Indo-Pacific Strategy.
"The belt and the road [plan] is an open platform for cooperation. [It is] neither designed to serve any hidden political agenda, nor to target anyone, "Xi said.
"This does not cause debt traps, as some people want to label it, [but] is a transparent project that brings a common development to the world ".
Xi launched the trillion dollar program in 2013 to strengthen connectivity between China and the Eurasian landmass.
However, Pence launched a veiled attack during the controversial construction frenzy abroad.
"As we all know, some provide infrastructure loans to Indo-Pacific governments and the world," he said. "However, the terms of these loans are at best often vague, the projects they support are often unsustainable … too often, they are subject to conditions."
Although he made no specific reference to China, Mr. Pence urged the Asian governments to consider Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy, supported by Australia and Japan, as a alternative preferable to the road and road plan.
"Know that the United States offers a better option," he said. "We do not drown our partners in an ocean of debt, we do not constrain or compromise your independence … We do not offer a seat belt or a one-way road."
On the issue of the increasing militarization of the South China Sea by China, Mr. Pence said that the United States would be associated with Australia for the improvement of the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island, a Pacific nation.
Infrastructure development, including roads, railways, ports, pipelines and airports, would be the priority of the Indo-Pacific strategy, Pence said, adding that the United States would based on principles that would be contrary to that of other countries ".
The tension between the two nations was also evident during a photo shoot for leaders of the 21 Apec member countries on Saturday afternoon. While Xi was standing with Papua New Guinean President Peter O'Neill, Pence was visibly absent from the shot.
At the same time, the Taiwan Foreign Ministry said the vice president had met with the island's autonomous envoy to Apec, Morris Chang, and discussed ways to "stimulate inclusive growth and shape the future." digital".
Pence described his meeting with Chang as "economics". "They were strong supporters of the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] and advocated for a free trade agreement. And I assured them that we are delaying this request, "he said.
In contrast, there were no reports of meetings between Chinese and US officials at the event.
Xi is currently on a seven-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. After leaving Papua New Guinea, he will travel to Brunei and the Philippines for state visits and will attend the G20 summit from November 30 to December 1 in Buenos Aires.
