Lin Min

Linmin67@hotmail.com

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday unveiled “Indo-Pacific Economic Vision,” a new investment program aiming to expand the country’s infrastructure drive in the Asia-Pacific region. It is believed that the new initiative targets China’s Belt and Road Initiative, although Pompeo made no mention of that intention.

Pompeo’s plan will increase the financial support that the U.S. Government provides to countries in the region through a proposed merged agency, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. (USIDFC). Along with US$113 million in direct government investment, the plan would double the global maximum spending for the USIDFC to US$60 billion.

The fact that the Indo-Pacific Economic Vision contradicts Donald Trump’s trademark “America First” agenda highlights the United States’ anxiety towards China’s rise. Given that the U.S. Government is faced with a massive deficit of US$890 billion in the fiscal year of 2018, the new initiative will exert huge financial pressures on the country. These indicate that the country is willing to do whatever it takes to counter China’s major moves, including the legitimate pursuit of technological advancement outlined in “Made in China 2025,” which the U.S. has been trying to discredit to no avail.

China has repeatedly made it clear that the Belt and Road Initiative is an open and inclusive platform for economic cooperation. It should not be interpreted as an offensive to challenge the U.S. on the world stage.

As Trump is making good on his words to put “America First,” the U.S. would do well to use its fiscal resources to improve the lives of Americans, and develop more visionary perspectives for the world by adopting win-win approaches rather that resorting to the tactics of containment. In the Asia-Pacific Region, the two countries can work hand in hand by way of the Belt and Road Initiative, which is off to a smooth start and has the backing of an increasing number of countries. As President Xi Jinping has said on many occasions, the Pacific has enough space to hold the interests of China and the United States.