Trade to be part of Biden's China strategy, not driving force: ex-USTR official

By Divya Chowdhury
Feb 3 (Reuters) - Trade will be a part of President Joe
Biden's overall negotiation policy with China, but it won't be
the driving force in Sino-U.S. relations, as it was under former
President Donald Trump, a former official at the Office of the
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on Wednesday.
"There are fundamental differences on a host of issues
between the United States and China that will be difficult to
resolve," Wendy Cutler, former assistant trade representative at
the USTR, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.
The Biden administration would be pressured to engage on
trade in the Asia-Pacific region by pacts such as the Regional
Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Asia, and China's
Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) with Europe, said
Cutler, who is currently vice president of the Asia Society
Policy Institute.
But she went on to say that taking the United States back
into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which had excluded China, was
not the only way to build ties in the Asia-Pacific region.
The CPTPP had been the centerpiece of former President
Barack Obama's strategic pivot to Asia covering 11 countries
across the Pacific, but Trump withdrew the United States from
the pact in 2017 before it was signed.
"If the United States were to consider returning to the
CPTPP, it would undoubtedly seek updates and revisions to the
agreement, including those that are more responsive to the
concerns of U.S. workers," Cutler added.
Cutler said narrower, sectoral deals could instead provide a
more viable alternative.
"They are relatively easier and quicker to do and could help
rebuild trust and momentum while delivering results."
Cutler said the RCEP, signed between 15 Asia-Pacific
countries, including China, in November 2020, needs to be taken
seriously.
"RCEP establishes wide rules of origin that will facilitate
trade among (member) countries, and over time, impact supply
chains," Cutler said.
It also has a structure for engagement where issues between
members can be addressed, she added.
The RCEP, widely seen as a China-supported alternative to
the CPTPP and touted as the world's largest free trade
agreement, aims to progressively lower tariffs and counter
protectionism, boost investment and allow freer movement of
goods within the region. nL4N2I219O
Cutler said she expected the United States to contribute to
infrastructure investments in the Asia-Pacific region, though
not at the scale of China.

(This interview was conducted in the Reuters Global Markets
Forum, a chat room hosted on the Refinitiv Messenger platform.
Sign up here to join GMF: https://refini.tv/33uoFoQ)