Fiji will join the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework just days before China’s foreign minister lands in the country, giving the Biden administration a victory in its competition with Beijing over influence in the Pacific.
Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, welcomed the move by Fiji to become the first Pacific Island nation and 14th member of IPEF, a trade initiative designed to deepen economic ties, which President Joe Biden launched in Japan on Monday.
“IPEF now reflects the full regional diversity of the Indo-Pacific, with members from north-east and south-east Asia, South Asia, Oceania and the Pacific Islands,” Sullivan said.