Countering China, via India and Vietnam: How the US is bolstering its presence in the Indo-Pacific

The Biden administration has signed a slew of technology pacts in Asia even as it continues to build ties with China.

Sep 22, 2023 - 01:30

Countering China, via India and Vietnam: How the US is bolstering its presence in the Indo-Pacific

This fall, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is slated to lead a bipartisan group of US senators to China. The planned trip, like other recent visits to China by high-ranking US officials, is aimed at improving the relationship between the US and China.

Such efforts to ameliorate US-China diplomatic relations come amid growing tensions between the two economic giants. They also run parallel to US efforts to strengthen ties with Indo-Pacific countries to limit Beijing’s influence.

Take, for example, President Joe Biden’s September 2023 trips to India for the G20 summit and to Vietnam, where US competition with China was a focus of Biden’s discussions. While he was in Asia, Biden made several agreements in science, technology and supply chain security designed to bolster US relations with India and Vietnam.

“I don’t want to contain China,” the president told reporters in Hanoi on September 10, 2023, shortly after meeting with Vietnam’s communist party leader.

US Representatives Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi echoed similar sentiments during an event held by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York City the following day.

But even if the US’s stated goal isn’t to limit China’s global influence, its recent agreements with India, Vietnam and other countries may do exactly that.