By Denghua Zhang** East Asia Forum. 16 April 2022[US Professor John Mearheimer says there's only one winner from the Ukraine war — China! See Footnote.]
US–China geostrategic competition is intensifying in the Pacific as both governments commit more resources to battle for influence.
The US government released its Indo-Pacific Strategy in February 2022, which fleshes out its policy priorities in the region. This document is based on the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ concept announced by previous president Donald Trump in 2017. The strategy testifies to US concerns about China, asserting that ‘intensifying American focus is due in part to the fact that the Indo-Pacific faces mounting challenges, particularly from [the People’s Republic of China]’. It lists China, COVID-19 and climate change as core challenges for the United States. Competition with China has received bipartisan support among the US Congress.
