Washington seeks to pit Asian powers in confrontation amid bid to contain China
(MA XUEJING / CHINA DAILY)
The United States has made it clear that China is its biggest competitor, and the strategic competition between the two countries is setting the tone for the international landscape.
Competition itself is not a bad thing, but it should be healthy and rule-based. Otherwise it could lead to a global catastrophe.
Washington is now sabotaging its own rules in order to maintain its strength and hegemony. It has even adopted more aggressive policies and neglected strategic balance, which reflects its arrogance.
In Northeast Asia, Japan regards the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a key opportunity to adjust its national security policy, and follows the US’ lead in imposing sanctions on Russia.
Tokyo is aligning itself firmly with the US and Europe, while viewing China, Russia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as security threats, or even rivals.
In the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the forming of blocs has become a new trend among Northeast Asian countries.
Economic tie-ups among Asian nations also face challenges.
The US is trying to win over some countries to rebuild its supply chains, which is in essence promoting ideology and setting up camps in the economic arena.
The so-called Build Back Better World initiative, or B3W, proposed during the G7 summit in 2021, and the “Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity” initiated by the US, are exclusive and political.
This represents a backlash against globalization, will interfere with the existing cooperation frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, increase corporate costs, reduce economic efficiency, and make supply chains more fragile.
Japan, which claims to be on the frontline of the confrontation between the US and China, has expressed its readiness to strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries, and elevated the issue of economic security into its national legislation.
The Republic of Korea, or ROK, and the US have established regular ministerial-level dialogues on supply chains and business.
Through its efforts to exclude China from supply chains and build up alliances in economic cooperation, Washington is dragging East Asia back from an era of open and win-win cooperation to an era in which countries pit themselves against their neighbors.
The rise in global energy prices has pushed up inflation in various countries and escalated security risks in global supply chains.
All the G7 members have accused Russia of fueling this rise. However, Western sanctions against Russia are obviously another reason for the rise in energy prices and inflation.
The combined GDP of China, the ROK and Japan in 2021 was about $24.4 trillion, higher than the $23 trillion figure of the US. The three are each other’s key trading partners.
In 2021, trade between China and Japan reached $371.4 billion, trade between China and the ROK was $362.4 billion, and trade between the ROK and Japan was about $84.8 billion.
China has long been the largest trading partner of the ROK and Japan, as trade with China accounted for 28.8 percent of the ROK’s foreign trade and 22.9 percent of Japan’s foreign trade last year.
The RCEP has further deepened the industrial and supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region, helping the three countries to leverage their respective advantages and the complementary nature of their industries.
It has also improved the level of trade and investment cooperation among regional countries. If negotiations over a China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area are successful, it will play an important role in further stabilizing the regional economy.
Tokyo has been actively encouraged by Washington to increase its involvement in Asia with a view to containing China.
Meanwhile, Japan and the ROK have not resolved their fundamental differences.
A decline in trust over security issues and the deterioration of political relations will inevitably affect economic cooperation between countries.
The frequent canceling of leaders’ meetings and stagnation of negotiations over a trilateral free trade agreement are related to the deterioration of political relations.
It is high time the three countries seriously consider the future of their relations.
In 1999, the leaders of China, the ROK and Japan set in motion trilateral dialogue and cooperation in a bid to draw lessons from the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
They believed that through deepening cooperation, the regional economy could be stabilized and a win-win situation achieved.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations.
The three countries should earnestly sum up the experience and lessons from the past, firmly grasp the general direction of cooperation, and jointly respond to new challenges to achieve regional prosperity and stability.
The author is vice-president of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations and contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.