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The United States and China offered rival visions for the Asia-Pacific at a summit on Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence said that there was no room for "an empire or aggression" in the area. (November 15th)
AP

US Vice President Mike Pence salutes before boarding Air Force Two at Yokota US Air Force Base in Fussa, near Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday, November 13, 2018.(Photo: Toru Hanai, AP)

SEOUL – Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday launched a strong challenge to China's growing influence on the planet, saying the US offered countries "a better option" for an economic partnership and criticizing Authoritarianism and aggression "Chinese.

Mr. Pence spoke at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, bringing together political leaders and business leaders from 21 countries and territories on the Pacific Rim. % of the world economy.

In his address, Vice President Pence said that the United States has a vision for a "free and open Indo-Pacific".

"The United States has reached out in a spirit of friendship and partnership, seeking collaboration, not control," he said.

Mr. Pence presented the US investment as an alternative to the Belts and Roads Initiative of the order of Beijing, a gigantic infrastructure and development project, covering Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Africa.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been criticized for leaving some countries deeply accountable in Beijing for projects that have become white elephants. The Sri Lankan government, for example, recently handed over to China its Chinese-developed port of Hambantota, with a credit of 99 billion euros, leased for 99 years, after the impossibility of respecting its debt commitments.

Other countries, such as Malaysia, have canceled or are considering billions of dollars in BRI projects.

"Know that the United States offers a better option," said Pence. "We do not drown our partners in an ocean of debt, we do not constrain or compromise your independence. The United States deals openly and fairly. We do not offer a constriction belt or a one-way street.

Pence defended the $ 250 billion tariff that President Trump imposed on Chinese products, causing a trade war between the world's two largest economies this year, and said that the United States could double that figure.

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The Vice President accused China of "putting huge hurdles" on companies entering the market and accused Beijing of unfair practices such as "forced technology transfer, intellectual property theft and industrial subsidies on a massive scale." unprecedented".

"The United States will not change course as long as China does not change its behavior," Pence said.

While Pence recalled America's vision "foremost," China and other countries defended the global free trade system at the APEC summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made an opening statement directly to Pence, warning against protectionism and unilateralism, and said countries now face a choice between cooperation and confrontation.

"Humanity has reached a crossroad again," he said. "Which direction should we choose – cooperation or confrontation – open or closed – win-win or zero-sum game?"

Xi also defended China's Belt and Roads Initiative, saying it was "not designed to serve a hidden geopolitical agenda."

"This is not an exclusive club that is closed to non-members, nor a trap, as some have called it," he said.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also reacted against the rise of trade protectionism.

"I know there are legitimate issues regarding trade agreements," he said, "but the solution to perceived unfair trade practices will likely be found around the bargaining table rather than in the reconstruction of the trade agreements." a tariff wall. "

"Our efforts must be aimed at persuading and re-convincing our peoples of national benefits (of free trade)," added Morrison.

Vice President Pence used his speech to criticize China's growing assertion in the region, particularly in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where Beijing is building military bases on man-made islands.

"Authoritarianism and aggression have no place in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

"The United States of America will continue to defend the freedom of the seas and the skies," he said. "We will continue to fly and sail where international law permits and our national interest demands it. Harassment will only strengthen our resolve. We will not change course.

Beijing and Washington have had several close encounters in the South China Sea, while the US Navy conducts "freedom of navigation operations" in waters for which China claims sovereignty.

Pence also announced a military pact with Australia and Papua New Guinea to expand operations at a naval base on the island of Manus in Papua New Guinea, with the aim of China's aggressive influence in the South Pacific.

"We will work with these countries to protect the sovereignty and shipping routes of the Pacific island nations," he said.

President Trump, who is not attending the APEC summit, is scheduled to meet with President Xi at the G20 summit in Argentina at the end of the month.

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