In November 2017, President Donald Trump laid out the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, in which all nations are sovereign, strong and prosperous. Spanning from the U.S. west coast to India’s west coast, with the dynamic Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at its center, the Indo-Pacific region offers unprecedented potential to strengthen the U.S. economy while also improving lives in Asia and around the world. As we all strive to recover from the global pandemic, the partnerships between the United States and the nations of the Indo-Pacific region are only growing in importance.
In recognition that the Indo-Pacific region is a primary engine of the global economy, and as a Pacific nation itself, the U.S. Government is employing a whole-of-government approach to unlock private sector-led economic recovery and growth, including through increased engagement by dynamic American companies. We focus on catalyzing exports and trade, and facilitating investments in energy, infrastructure, and the digital economy. Our transparent, private sector-driven model has a proven track record for delivering sustainable growth, reducing poverty, and fostering technological innovation, and delivers the best formula for post-pandemic economic recovery and sustained and equitable growth.
To power growth that is sustainable and high-quality, with lasting benefits for the region and the world, U.S. policy promotes:
- Market-based economics to improve rules-based competition.
- Open and transparent business environments to level the playing field.
- Fair and reciprocal trade to drive lasting and broadly-shared growth.
Three years after launching our Indo-Pacific strategy, the impact of our whole-of-government efforts has been far-reaching and transformational.
Since the first Indo-Pacific Business Forum in July 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce, in partnership with other U.S. government agencies, has facilitated $37.6 billion in FDI from the region into the United States supporting an estimated 50,000 American jobs and assisting 4,122 Indo-Pacific clients considering investments in the United States. During the same period, the U.S. Department of Commerce assisted over 12,000 U.S. companies active in the region, and supported an estimated 1 million American jobs.
In 2019, U.S. businesses conducted over $1.89 trillion in two-way trade with the region. U.S. export of goods and services to the region accounted for 28.2% of total U.S. exports, and imports from the region accounted for 37.9% of total U.S. imports.
The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indo-Pacific. In 2019, the total U.S. investment in ASEAN member countries is $338 billion, which is larger than the outbound U.S. FDI in China and Japan combined.
- The U.S. government is helping Indo-Pacific countries increase their energy security and overcome their energy-related constraints to growth while unlocking new market opportunities for the private sector.
- The United States is enhancing market connectivity for U.S. firms to drive increased trade with the region.
- The U.S. government is helping partner countries advance reforms to ensure fair and open market competition that unlocks the power of private enterprise-led growth in the digital economy, and pursue transparent, market-based infrastructure deals that yield the best value.
Read more by downloading this Factsheet (October 2020: English PDF https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/wp-content/uploads/sites/252/Indo-Pacific-2020-English.pdf / Chinese PDF https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/wp-content/uploads/sites/252/Indo-Pacific-2020-Chinese.pdf)