WASHINGTON, 02 December 2021, (TON): The White House’s Indo Pacific coordinator, Kurt Campbell, said “China is conducting “dramatic economic warfare” against Australia and has tried to “break” the US ally, contributing to increased anxiety about Beijing in the region.”

Campbell told the Lowy Institute foreign policy institute “US President Joe Biden raised the treatment of Australia, which has been subject to trade reprisals by Beijing, in his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping as an example of behavior that was backfiring because Xi’s advisers were not providing effective feedback.”

Campbell said “China’s preference would have been to break Australia. To drive Australia to its knees.”

Campbell underlined the United States’ commitment to new security and economic alliances in the Indo Pacific, including the defense technology pact with Australia and Britain, known as AUKUS, and the Quad of India, Japan, US and Australia.

He said “these groups would also focus on technology, education, climate and pandemic cooperation, to show the US was bringing value to Asia.”

He said “the United States is not leaving the Indo-Pacific, and we’re not in decline.”