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US-China relations
China

US strategy for Indo-Pacific region must promote economic development, not just defence: Senate panel

  • Washington should offer ‘alternatives to what our competitors are offering’, says Foreign Relations committee chair, referring to Beijing’s advances
  • Senators and analysts contend free-trade agreements can help US face ‘behemoth of an economic challenge’ posed by China and others

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Democratic senator Ben Cardin of Maryland (centre) chairs the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which held the hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg
Igor Patrickin Washington
Washington’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific region is heavily focused on defence and lacks a robust economic agenda promoting regional development, an influential US Senate panel heard on Wednesday.
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The US should present “alternatives to what our competitors are offering”, said Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, referring to partnerships China has forged with countries in the region.

A commitment to promoting better infrastructure and investment in the Indo-Pacific region was necessary to remind US partners that “America’s leadership in the world has never been more important”, Cardin added.

“We have a lot of alliances … But are we doing enough trade, investment and diplomacy, which is really where I think the battleground needs to be?”
Harry Harris, US ambassador to South Korea from 2018 to 2021, testified at the Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.
Harry Harris, US ambassador to South Korea from 2018 to 2021, testified at the Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.

New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez said he believed the US faced “a behemoth of an economic challenge with China in this region”.

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