and in the west from the Walter
Cronkite school of journalism at
Arizona state university.
Judy: President Biden's trip to
Asia aims to improve relations
with allies in the region and in
the coming days he plans to
introduce a new regional
economic framework designed to
counter China's influence.
Nick schifrin begins our
coverage.
Reporter: Outside of Seoul
today, president Biden toward
one of the worlds most advanced
semiconductor plants.
He and the south Korean
president were guided through
the Samsung facility by American
technicians.
This plant is the model for a
$17 billion facility Samsung is
building in Texas.
>> Thank you very much.
Reporter: In his first
presidential speech in Asia, he
focused on this region.
>> So much of the future of the
world will be written here in
the indo pacific and the next
several decades.
We are standing at an inflection
point in history where decisions
we make today will have
far-reaching impacts on the
world that we leave for our
children tomorrow.
♪♪
reporter: The U.S. Attempt to
focus on Asia will rely on newly
inaugurated allies.
He promises a tougher stance on
North Korea and stance and his
predecessor.
>> North Korea's
denuclearization greatly
contribute to bringing lasting
peace and prosperity to the
Korean peninsula and beyond.
Reporter: But this year in
propaganda videos -- North Korea
has shown little peace and a lot
of tests holding 16 launches
including what it claimed was a
new intercontinental ballistic
missile.
And four years after north
Korea's last nuclear test,
researchers say Pyongyang is
re-excavating tunnels at a
nuclear testing sites.
Jake Sullivan warned of more
tests.
>> Either a further missile test
including long-range missile
test or a nuclear test or
frankly both.
>> I believe tpp is a plus for
America's economy.
Reporter: Also on the agenda,
revisiting the tpp.
President Obama made it his
centerpiece for his pivot
to Asia.
11 members are on a different
treaty but it still excludes the
U.S.
On Monday, president Biden will
travel to Tokyo where he will
announce a new policy.
He will also hold another
meeting as he did in September
with the leaders of the quad,
Australia, India, and Japan.
It is the administration's
effort to show it can focus on
what U.S. Officials believe has
always been their top priority,
China.
Pbs newshour, Nick schifrin.
Judy: For more on Biden's first
trip to Asia as president, we
get the perspective from frank,
the president of the Mansfield
organization.
We -- he also worked at the
state department and as a
staffer for senator Joe Biden.
And on the blazer is the
director at the Asia program at
the German Marshall fund of the
United States.
Hello to both of you and welcome
back to the program.
Frank, let me start with you.
What is it about this moment you
believe has led president Biden
to go to Asia?
>> Thank you for the question.
Deep in Bidens DNA about usa --
u.s.-asia relations are the
words of Mike Mansfield who
taught that the most important
relationship to the U.S. Was the
u.s.-china alliance.
At the core, you have president
Biden reassuring allies that the
U.S. Credible nuclear deterrent
remain strong in the face of
North Korea's continued nuclear
testing a missile development.
That the U.S. Commitment to Asia
will not be in any way
diminished by the conflict
underway in Europe where the
U.S. And nato allies are
responding to Russia's invasion
of Ukraine.
Security leads here and the Asia
DNA of the president inherited
from Mansfield has brought him
to this region before traveling
even to Kyiv.
Judy: And staying with you,
frank, how worried is the united
States or South Korea about what
North Korea is up to?
>> I think that U.S. Allies are
frankly a little more spooked by
North Korea's continued pursuit
of nuclear weapons then is the
United States.
North Korea's pursuit of nuclear
weapons is a four decade long
enterprise.
Convincing them to abandon that
pursuit remains a high priority
for the U.S. But there is not
much hope of big progress on
that challenge anytime soon.
The U.S. Visit to the region is
to remind them that we are with
them.
There will be steps taken I'm
sure to shore up that deterrence
including movement on enhanced
villa Terry.
They are working with Japan and
South Korea on developing
limited counterstrike abilities
of their own including surface
to surface missile technology.
Our allies want that reassurance
and president Biden will give it
to them.
Judy: Bonnie Blaser, you were
telling us that China is
watching this and even as it is
more than distracted with its
own domestic problems right now,
it is watching this trip with
concern.
Why?
>> That is right, Judy.
The Chinese are very focused on
the economic problems and the
zero covid policy.
But the Chinese do not like the
idea that the United States is
so active in the indo pacific
region.
The Chinese want to be dominant
certainly in east Asia.
They see the U.S. As building a
nato like structure -- nato like
structures which is what they
call the quad and the
arrangement with the U.S., the
U.K. And Australia aiming to
build a nuclear powered
submarine.
The Chinese say the U.S. Is
operating on cold war mentality.
China is on the rise.
This is its region.
And the United States should and
its alliances and see the region
essentially -- and cede the
region essentially to China.
A couple years ago, they were a
lot less worried about the U.S.
Pivot to Asia.
The Chinese foreign minister in
2018 called the quad -- he said
it would dissipate like seafoam
on the ocean.
But today, they are far more
worried than they were then.
Judy: Is that because they
actually fear what the U.S. And
its allies could do in the
region?
>> Well, they fear the building
of what they see as anti-china
coalitions regionally and
globally.
The g7 called out China for
supporting Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.
The United States and Europe
have been sending identical
messages to China's leader that
China should not provide
material support to the Russian
economy or to the war effort.
I think the Chinese see there
are key countries in the world
pushing back against China and
they are worried this could --
this could affect their
interests.
Judy: We heard Nick schifrin
reporting that another part of
the trip is the economic
element.
What can be accomplished here?
The U.S. Is in delicate straits
as we reported in our lead
segment tonight.
What can president Biden hope to
create to move forward or make
progress on meeting with his
Asian allies?
>> Unfortunately for the
president, most of the
challenges he faces on the
international trade front are
here at home.
There is no enthusiasm in the
congress for the kind of binding
international trade agreement
represented by the transpacific
partnership.
Facing that reality, the
president is doing the next best
thing which as he is working to
develop friends shoring that is
to say working with countries
that share our values, our
democratic systems to enhance
our supply chain resiliency, to
reduce dependence on China for
key technologies, inputs for the
iPhone I am using to conduct
this Skype interview with you
this evening.
And so, the indo pacific
economic framework he will
announce with much fanfare in
Tokyo is designed to work with
like-minded countries to work
together to build more resilient
reliable supply chains
especially on digital economy
which the United States
perceives to be at the core of
our economic future.
I think the Asian partners will
welcome this but frankly it is
sort of tpp-lite and they would
prefer if the United States were
to join the comprehensive -- the
new version of the transpacific
partnership.
Judy: The acronyms can make us a
little crazy but it is important
to follow them.
Bonnie, China looks on that
economic arrangement, how?
>> The Chinese have been deeply
engaged in the region
economically.
They have been providing loans
to many countries in southeast
Asia and they and fact have
applied to join the transpacific
partnership now called cptpp
where the United States has not.
I think China is less concerned
about U.S. Economic engagement
in the region.
Last week, president Biden in
fact pledged 150 million dollars
to southeast Asian countries
went eight of the leaders
visited the white house and the
Chinese quickly topped the offer
by pledging 1.5 billion dollars.
I think the Chinese are actually
more worried about the security
and diplomatic engagement of the
United States and they are
worried about the U.S. Economic
influence.
Judy: Well, we are following it
all and you are following it all
very closely and we thank you so
much.
Bonnie Blaser and frank, thank
you.
>> Thank you very much.