Antony Blinken believes Asian countries should be able to select their own partners

On the eve of a presidential summit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken advocated for Pacific Rim states to be free to choose their own partners.

Blinken highlighted a 2020 statement from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco, which called for an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community.

“The United States believes in that vision — a region where economies are free to choose their own path and their own partners, where problems are dealt with openly, where rules are reached transparently and applied fairly, where goods, ideas, and people flow lawfully and freely”, he went on to say.

The US has accused China of employing economic pressure and increased assertiveness at sea to squeeze countries with whom it disagrees.

China, for its part, has questioned the United States’ position in Asia, notably its military alliances, claiming that Beijing has historically been the dominating power.

Despite a number of issues, US President Joe Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC conference on Wednesday.

Both countries have expressed hope, in various ways, of providing more stability to the world’s two greatest economies’ difficult relationship.

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