Joe Biden has launched a trade initiative with 12 Indo-Pacific countries, in his first serious effort to boost economic engagement in the region and help other nations resist Chinese pressure.
Biden unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in Tokyo on Monday after meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on his first visit to Asia as US president.
Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said allies such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea would join the agreement. India and seven south-east Asian nations — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei — will also join IPEF, which includes nations that represent 40 per cent of the global economy.