Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 19 (International Observer) Biden's visit to South Korea and Japan has new tricks to engage in "small circles"

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter

　　U.S. President Biden will visit South Korea and Japan from the 20th to the 24th. This is Biden's first trip to Asia since he took office in January last year.

During his visit to Japan, Biden will also attend the summit of the "Quadrilateral Mechanism" of the United States, Japan, India and Australia and launch the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework".

　　Analysts pointed out that Biden's trip is aimed at consolidating alliances and continuing to accelerate the implementation of his so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy" through the "four-sided mechanism" summit.

The "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" launched by Biden this time has aroused a lot of doubts in South Korea and Japan, and the United States' attempt to close the exclusive "club" is doomed to fail.

　　Want to play the "economic card"

　　Sullivan, assistant to the US president for national security affairs, said at a regular White House press conference on the 18th that Biden's trip will have the opportunity to "reaffirm and strengthen" the important security alliance between the United States and South Korea and Japan, and deepen the economic partnership with the two countries.

　　Sullivan said that during his visit to South Korea, Biden will meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk-wyatt and meet with South Korean technology and manufacturing leaders.

White House press secretary Jean-Pierre confirmed to the media that Biden will not travel to the military demarcation line area during his stay in South Korea.

During his visit to Japan, Biden will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and discuss a series of issues such as deepening bilateral economic and security cooperation.

Biden will also attend the US-Japan-India-Australia "Quadrilateral Mechanism" summit and launch the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework".

　　Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported recently that the governments of Japan and the United States are considering deepening cooperation in the field of economic security and plan to issue a joint statement after the meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

In addition to strengthening cooperation in R&D and production of semiconductors, the joint statement will also include strengthening cooperation in new defense fields such as digital networks and aerospace.

　　South Korea's "Kinghyang Shimbun" published an article pointing out that for the United States, economic and security issues are Biden's priority issues during his trip.

Yonhap News Agency reported that after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US diplomatic and security forces were mostly concentrated in Europe. In this context, Biden’s visit to South Korea and Japan highlights the US’s desire to accelerate its so-called”Indo-Pacific strategy.”

　　Make a big "small circle"

　　The Biden administration released the long-awaited "U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy" document in February this year.

From the 12th to the 13th of this month, the US-ASEAN leaders' meeting was held in Washington, the capital of the United States. During the meeting, the United States tried its best to promote its "Indo-Pacific strategy", intending to provoke confrontation among countries in the region.

　　Analysts believe that in the so-called "Indo-Pacific strategy", the United States claims to promote "freedom and openness" in the region, but in fact it builds a closed and exclusive "small circle" through the "trilateral security partnership" and "quadlateral mechanism"; Strengthening regional security actually creates serious risks of nuclear proliferation and undermines regional peace and stability; it claims to promote regional prosperity, but actually provokes confrontation and confrontation among regional countries.

　　In essence, the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" is an extension of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" in the economic field.

According to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy document, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework aims to develop new forms of trade, manage the digital economy and cross-border data based on open principles, promote healthy and secure supply chains, and co-invest in clean energy with participating countries.

　　Michael Green, senior vice president of Asian affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an American think tank, believes that the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" proposed by the United States will not convince the region, and the role of the "Quartet" in maintaining the security of the "Indo-Pacific region" is also will be limited.

　　Although South Korea and Japan have indicated that they will join the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework", some Japanese media pointed out that the specific content and operation methods of the framework have so far been very opaque, and its prospects may face many difficulties.

According to a report by the Japan External Trade Organization, the United States will hold congressional midterm elections in November this year. Due to the chaos in the domestic supply chain, the shortage of labor, and the rising inflation in the United States, there will be a lot of grievances among the people. In this case, whether Biden will be enough political The allocation of capital to this economic framework will be severely tested.

Toshiki Takahashi, research director of the Japan Institute of International Trade and Investment, said that the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" is not a trade agreement with substantial contents such as market opening and tariff reduction, and it is not very attractive to some countries.

　　Trying hard to get what you want

　　Analysts pointed out that openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win results are the common expectations of the people in the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States has recently formed a "small circle" for its own selfish interests, which is obviously contrary to such a desire.

A series of actions by the United States have sparked opposition in South Korea and Japan. This attempt to close the exclusive "club" by using the "Indo-Pacific economic framework" is doomed to fail.

　　Kim Yang-hee, head of the Economic and Trade Development Research Department of the National Institute of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, said that if the United States seeks to build an "Indo-Pacific economic framework", it will undermine the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) initiated and led by ASEAN. It goes against the Biden administration's so-called line of valuing alliances and its commitment to respect ASEAN's centrality in regional affairs.

　　Yu Sung-geun, director of the South Korean Institute of East Asian Studies, said that the "Cold War mentality" has long been outdated, but there are still some countries that adhere to this mentality in an attempt to incite confrontation and create conflicts and disputes.

The United States claims that the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" is inclusive and flexible, but in practice it excludes specific countries, which exposes the hypocrisy of the United States.

　　Tomoo Marukawa, a professor at the Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Tokyo, believes that if the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" is designed to restrict trade with China, then this framework will not bring any economic benefits to its members, but only restrict trade.

He believes that few countries will join and that the framework will have limited impact on the regional economy.

(Participating reporters: Deng Xianlai, Jiang Qiaomei, Liu Chunyan, Lu Rui, Sun Yiran)