US deputy secretary of state nominee underlines cooperation with allies to counter China's rise

U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for deputy secretary of state highlighted the need Tuesday to work with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter the rise of China, which he cast as the United States' "foremost" strategic competitor.

Christopher Landau, the nominee for the State Department's No. 2 post, made the remarks during a Senate confirmation hearing, pointing to regional allies as well as the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Quad consisting of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia.

"We've all experienced over the last 30 years the People's Republic of China, both economically and militarily, to now be our nation's foremost strategic competitor, really, all around the world," he said, referring to China by its official name.

The nominee stressed the U.S. is "not alone," as he argued there are countries in China's neighborhood that have as strong an interest in countering China's rise as the U.S.

"We have a number of organizations there. Obviously, Japan is a very close ally of ours ... The Republic of Korea (ROK), the ASEAN nations. We have the Quad with India, Australia and Japan," he said. ROK is Korea's official name.

"In trying to counter China's rise, we should work with all these nations in the region."

Landau underscored his commitment to Trump's drive to reduce America's trade deficits.

"For a long time now, economic and commercial affairs have been relegated to second class status at the State Department, and our nation has racked up massive trade deficits with foreign countries," he said.

"We must work closely with the private sector to open new markets for American goods and services, out-hustle foreign competitors and attract foreign investment to the United States."

He also called for efforts to ensure that America's trade and commercial relations with other countries are "fair," and that countries do not "take advantage of" U.S. markets without affording America "reciprocal" access to theirs. (Yonhap)