US can't disrupt growing economic, trade ties between China and PICs

Illustration: Chen Xia/Global Times

US Congressional negotiators on Sunday unveiled a bill to fund key parts of the government through the rest of the fiscal year that began in October 2023, narrowly averting another partial government shutdown by Friday, Reuters reported on Monday. Part of the package includes funding to counter China in the Pacific region, US media outlet VOA claimed.

As part of this agreement, the US hastily announced the allocation of funds to counter China in the Pacific region, indicating how frantic the US has become in its efforts to suppress China. Yet, efforts by the US to disrupt economic and trade cooperation between China and the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are doomed to be counterproductive.

Under so-called Compacts of Free Association, Washington provides economic assistance to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, while gaining exclusive military access to strategic areas of the Pacific, according to Reuters.

It's questionable if this funding will actually be delivered. The US, however, is seeking to increase its military presence in the region. Its geopolitical calculations are evident for all to see. These actions of the US will only disrupt the peace and stability of the region, thereby harming its economic growth.

In recent years, China's economic and trade cooperation with the PICs has continuously expanded, bringing tangible benefits to the region. However, this has triggered strategic anxiety in the US. Driven by a zero-sum game mind-set, the US has shifted from its previous arrogance toward the region, with frequent visits by high-ranking officials.

During a visit to the Pacific island country of Tonga in July 2023, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized China's investment in the region, claiming that as China's engagement in the region had grown, there had been some, from his perspective, increasingly "problematic behavior."

However, rhetoric from US officials like Blinken attempting to discredit China's investments in the PICs cannot fool anyone. The attempts by the US to interfere with the PICs' legitimate rights to freely choose to expand economic and trade cooperation with China are futile.

First, no matter how many tricks the US plays to lure the PICs into its selfish geopolitical game, it cannot undermine the long-standing equal, mutually respectful and mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between China and the PICs.

For a long time, China's economic and trade cooperation with the PICs has been closely aligned with the actual needs of local economic development and improvement of living standards of local residents. China is committed to improving local infrastructure, healthcare, education and other development needs, gradually gaining recognition from local residents.

In stark contrast, assistance promises by the US are often accompanied by numerous political conditions, with promised investment frequently being delayed or never materializing. The US consistently chooses to overlook the needs of local residents for improved access to water, electricity, basic healthcare, education and other essential services, instead only focusing on expanding its military presence in the region.

Second, China's economic and trade cooperation with the PICs has become a model of South-South cooperation. Situated in the southern extension of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the PICs are important economic and trade partners for China.

Through mutual efforts, China's cooperation with the PICs under the BRI now encompasses more than 20 areas including trade and investment, the marine environment, disaster mitigation, poverty alleviation and healthcare, among others, bringing tangible benefits to the people in the region.

Third, China's economic and trade cooperation with these countries is complementary, based on the economic laws of free trade to develop economic and trade cooperation, rather than being politically driven. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from 1992 to 2021, total trade between China and the PICs that have diplomatic ties with it increased from $153 million to $5.3 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 13 percent, expanding over 30 times in the span of 30 years. As of the end of 2021, China's direct investment in the PICs amounted to $2.72 billion.

The PICs are not geopolitical chess pieces of the US. If the US genuinely wishes to support the development and prosperity of this region, then it should fulfill its economic aid and cooperation commitments. If engagements can bring tangible benefits to the local economies, they should be welcomed.

The US is only making empty promises, while imposing political conditions on these countries and forcing them to pick sides between the US and China. Its geopolitical games harm others while not benefiting itself, and this will provoke a backlash among local economies.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times.