The COVID pandemic changed the world, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, annual meeting in Lima, Peru, he noted that the pandemic’s end “was a moment that required a fundamental rebalancing of our approach to economic and technological interdependence.”
“In the United States, we started by making historic investments in our own competitiveness.”
“Here in the Asia-Pacific, we’ve bolstered trilateral cooperation with Japan and Korea. We deepened ties with the Quad – India, Japan, and Australia – and ASEAN. We’ve elevated our relationships with Vietnam and Indonesia,” he said.
“We launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, bringing together 14 countries – some 40 percent of the world’s GDP – to build more secure supply chains, to combat corruption, to transition to clean energy.”
At the same time, “We’ve stepped up our engagement with APEC, including welcoming many of you to San Francisco last year, where we secured important new commitments toward creating a more resilient and sustainable future for all of us.”
“As of 2021, American businesses … had already poured over $1.4 trillion into APEC economies, making the United States the largest source of foreign direct investment within APEC.”
“Meanwhile, APEC economies have invested $1.7 trillion in the United States – from clean energy to semiconductors – supporting 2.3 million American jobs,” said Secretary Blinken.
“These numbers are growing every day. They’ve grown every year since, they’re growing every day, and I think they tell an incredibly important story.”
“Foreign direct investment may be the best measure of trust and confidence in the future. The private sector is not going to put its money on the table without that trust and confidence. I am very proud that we’ve made the United States the leading recipient – and the leading provider – of foreign direct investment in the world,” he said.
Finally, “We’ve also worked to include underserved, underrepresented communities – like women and girls, like indigenous communities, like workers in the informal economy,” said Secretary Blinken.
“We’re grateful to groups like the APEC Business Advisory Council for prioritizing this work and challenging governments and the private sector alike to do more to expand opportunity. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because our region, our economies are stronger and they’re more stable when we unlock the potential of all of our people,” he said.
“And ultimately, that’s what all of this comes down to: our people. Their needs. Their aspirations.”
