News Analysis
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi comes up mostly empty-handed on a sweeping security pact and trade deal in his recent tour of the Pacific region.
Shut out of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and unable to secure Solomon-Island-style security pacts with other Pacific Island nations, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing forward with the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
At the fourth Quad Summit in Tokyo on May 24, the Biden administration launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). It has since been joined by 13 members, including seven of ten ASEAN members, the four Quad members, South Korea, and New Zealand. This was a crucial development as the CCP had recently convinced the Solomon Islands to sign a security pact….