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TOKYO – Asian leaders will travel to Papua New Guinea this week, at a time when the United States and China are competing for advantage in a growing rivalry of military and economic influence in the region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be present; President Trump will not do it.
Vice President Mike Pence, Trump's deputy, is trying to convey the message that the United States will be a reliable counterweight to an emboldened China.
"Authoritarianism and aggression have no place in the Indo-Pacific. And I know this vision is shared by the United States and Japan, "Pence said Tuesday in Tokyo, after a private meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Nevertheless, countries living in the shadow of China and wanting assurances from the United States will take the absence of Mr. Trump in the foreground, said analysts.
By skipping the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit of 21 countries and two other summits in Singapore this week, Trump may leave the impression that he does not see the region as a compelling priority requiring a personal appearance, he said. foreign policy analysts. .
Trump's decision, shortly after taking office, to drop the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership's trade pact proposed by his Democratic predecessor, former President Obama, is another area of concern. . Instead, he focused on individual trade agreements, where he believes the US can better exploit its size and weight, White House officials said.
At the two-day summit of leaders in Papua New Guinea, which begins on Saturday, Xi is expected to talk to neighboring countries about public works projects likely to link them to China, analysts said.
President Xi will hold bilateral meetings with some leaders of APEC countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Jun said on Tuesday at a press briefing. He declined to say whether Mr. Xi would meet Mr. Pence or South Korean President Moon Jae-in one-on-one.
Delegates arriving in Port Moresby will have a glimpse of China's economic influence. The meeting place is a congress center built and paid for by the Chinese. The motorcade will follow a six-lane road built and secured by Chinese bonds.
Richard Haass, chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations and former head of the Republican administration George W. Bush, said in an interview, "If, as Woody Allen pointed out, 80% of life is coming up. , so the United States is already 80 years old. % reduced because the president is not there. No vice president can counterbalance this reality if other countries, including China, are represented by their number one. "
"In the end, President Trump's no-show reinforces the perception that the US commitment to Asia is faltering as China's role grows," he added. .
Mr. Trump will also miss one of the world leaders' rapprochement rituals: the time of the APEC summit where heads of state associate colorful shirts provided by the host country and pose for a photo of group.
"According to the protocol, the vice president will be somewhere at the back, while Xi Jinping will be standing right next to the host or something like that," said Victor Cha, director of Asian affairs to the National Security Council of former President George W. Bush.
White House officials cited a busy schedule to explain Trump's decision not to attend. President Trump returned Sunday after a two-day trip to France and will then travel to Buenos Aires for a meeting of the group of 20 most important nations. He should meet Xi at this summit.
Aides also pointed out that Mr. Pence had close relations with Mr. Trump and spoke credibly to the President when he represented the United States abroad.
Mr. Pence said during his trip to Asia that Mr. Trump attended Asian meetings last year and outlined Washington's strategy. White House officials said the United States offers alternatives to Chinese economic assistance.
The United States and its allies are coordinating their efforts to counter what officials in Washington and elsewhere see as Beijing's attempts to influence small nations as part of its Belt and Road initiative, an international development program. infrastructure.
Last month, President Trump signed the Build Act, which brings US private enterprise development funding to $ 60 billion. In July, the United States, Japan and Australia announced a trilateral partnership to invest in infrastructure projects in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States, along with Japan and Australia, are fighting over the construction of an Internet network in Papua New Guinea to block a Chinese telecom company. Earlier this month, Australia announced that it would redevelop a US-built South Pacific Naval Base during the Second World War, which should give US and Australian forces better access to the southern approaches to the United States. South China Sea.
Presidents have already missed the APEC summit. Former President Obama skipped a meeting in Indonesia in 2013, citing an ongoing budget dispute in Washington. With his administration touting a "strategic pivot to Asia," he was criticized for not showing up.
Chinese leaders have become accustomed to Mr. Trump's disgust for multilateral meetings and will probably not be bothered by his absence from APEC, Chinese analysts said.
Neither the vice-president's office nor the Chinese have discussed the idea of a meeting between Pence and Xi at the Papua New Guinea summit, White House officials said.
Relations between the two parties are tense. China inherited Pence's speech in October, in which he said China was using "proactive and coercive" measures to interfere in US politics. Mr. Abe mentioned this speech with approval during his meeting with Mr. Pence on Tuesday, said a person familiar with the case.
-Kersten Zhang in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Peter Nicholas at [email protected] and Rachel Pannett at [email protected]
