Latest news with #KurtCampbell
CNBC
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CNBC
China says U.S. dialogue to continue as China hints trade talks are advancing
The U.S. and China have agreed to maintain communication following a call between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and U.S. Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell on Thursday, according to a readout released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday. Both sides exchanged thoughts on crucial issues during the call, the statement said, without elaborating.
CNBC
24-04-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Trump needs to 'back off' from overheated rhetoric: Kurt Campbell
Kurt Campbell, former Deputy Secretary of State for the US, talks about Asia's place in the US-China trade war. He says China & Asia as a whole are being careful about tariffs and their US relations, and that the Trump administration need to better signal that it's a 'predictable, reliable, key player' in the Indo-Pacific.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The U.S. cannot confront China alone, former Deputy Secretary of State warns
SEOUL, April 23 (UPI) -- The United States must strengthen its alliances with global partners, particularly South Korea and Japan, to face the rising challenge posed by China, the former chief architect of White House strategy on Asia said Wednesday. Kurt Campbell, National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs under the administration of President Joe Biden, made the remarks in a keynote address at the Asan Plenum, a forum in Seoul hosted by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Campbell, who also served as Deputy Secretary of State, warned that the "America First" foreign policy favored by President Donald Trump is a "recipe for failure" when confronting an empowered China. The isolationist faction in Washington "argues that it is better for the United States to think about itself, largely alone, putting its own interests above others," Campbell said. "That's often referred to as 'America First,' but if you're not careful, it will turn into America alone," he said. "There are going to be some who say we're going to do this by ourselves. That is a recipe for failure." Washington and Beijing are locked in a global competition across a number of arenas from technology to trade to military prowess. In a testimony before the House Armed Services Committee earlier this month, the leader of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command cautioned that Beijing is outproducing the United States in air, maritime and missile capacity and is accelerating its space capabilities. "[China's] unprecedented military modernization encompassing advancements in artificial intelligence, [hypersonic missiles], space-based capabilities, among others, poses a real and serious threat to our homeland, to our allies and to our partners," Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo said. In his address Wednesday, Campbell said that the United States once had the industrial and technological capacity to handle any challenges on the global stage, but China's threat is unprecedented -- and underestimated in Washington. "[China has] made remarkable investments technologically, in terms of manufacturing, robots, shipbuilding, the largest warfare buildup in history," Campbell said. "I will posit to you that the United States cannot take on this challenge alone," he said. "The only way forward is to double down and work much more closely with allies and partners to take on these challenges." South Korea will play a central role, Campbell said, and can partner with the United States in crucial areas such as shipbuilding, part of a maritime industry that the White House is seeking to revive. "The ROK has the ability to assist a largely moribund effort in the United States," he said, using South Korea's official acronym. "It is the ROK that can help us, that can work with us in very productive partnerships." South Korea is the world's second-largest shipbuilder after China, and trade officials in Seoul are hoping cooperation will be a key negotiating tool in addressing 25% tariffs on exports that the Trump administration has said it plans to impose. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul also mentioned joint economic activities such as shipbuilding and liquid natural gas projects in his introductory remarks at the Asan Plenum, saying they would form part of a "win-win cooperation" with the United States. Under the Biden administration, Washington strengthened its trilateral relationship with Seoul and Tokyo, highlighted by an August 2023 Camp David summit with former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Campbell, who was instrumental in facilitating the summit, said that the trilateral alliance is "of central importance" and that Washington should involve South Korea and Japan more deeply in decision-making around military and nuclear use as it did with Europe during the Cold War. "If we can work together strategically, militarily, politically, it will have a profound impact on peace and stability in Northeast Asia and it will be a strong deterrent for provocations from a number of countries, including North Korea and China," Campbell said. "Behind closed doors, the Chinese regard the American ability to work with partners and allies as our most significant ticket to the big game," Campbell added. "Our ability to convene and engage frankly causes some pause in Beijing, and it will be something we need to sustain going forward."
Korea Herald
23-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
The Asia Group launches Seoul office, citing Korea's global strategic role
The Asia Group, a US-based strategic and investment advisory firm, launched a new office in Seoul this week to serve the growing number of high-potential clients with investment power in Korea. 'Establishing a strong on-the-ground presence in Seoul underscores TAG's long-term strategic commitment to the region,' said TAG Chairman and Co-Founder Kurt Campbell, who visited Seoul from Tuesday to Wednesday. 'South Korea's role as a global innovation leader and strategic player in Northeast Asia makes it indispensable to our clients' priorities. At a time of heightened geopolitical flux and shifting global supply chains, TAG's investment in South Korea enhances our ability to deliver timely, meaningful counsel and high-impact business solutions to companies navigating today's increasingly complex operating environment.' The advisory firm appointed Lim Byung-dae, a global corporate management specialist, as managing director to head the main office. Previously serving as executive vice president of LG Group's Corporate and Government Affairs office in Washington, Lim led US federal government affairs for seven LG operating companies and advised senior leadership on corporate strategy, government engagement and regulatory compliance, TAG said. Lim also brings extensive legal experience, having served as general counsel in Seoul for LG Innotek, LG Display and Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea, and having practiced law at leading institutions such as Kim & Chang and IBM Korea. Lim joins the Seoul office alongside TAG Senior Vice President and Korea Country Director Kim Yoo-chul, and Associate Vice President John Lee. Kim is a seasoned former journalist and brings deep expertise at the intersection of business, media, and geopolitics, the firm added. The advisory group said it aims to provide premier expertise in delivering tailored strategies to help clients navigate Korea's dynamic market, as well as to support Korean firms operating in the increasingly complex US and global business environments. TAG's Seoul office joins its network of regional hubs, which includes locations in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai, Hanoi, Bangkok, New Delhi, Mumbai, Singapore, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. Since its founding in Washington in 2013, TAG has grown to include over 150 professionals worldwide.
Axios
11-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
To fight a trade war, it's nice to have friends
To fight a trade war against China, most foreign policy experts would say that you need allies. Why it matters: Over the past few months, the White House antagonized pretty much all its friends on the global stage, making it that much harder to carry out what is now a full-blown tariff battle with China. The big picture: China is a formidable economic force, the second-largest economy in the world, with significant resources like a vast labor supply, manufacturing heft, a growing electric vehicle industry and expanding military might. "On critical metrics, China has already outmatched the United States," write the authors of a sobering new piece in Foreign Affairs. Zoom in: The best shot the U.S. has at holding its economic edge is in forging partnerships, Kurt Campbell and Rush Doshi write: "China possesses scale, and the United States does not — at least not by itself." "Because its only viable path lies in coalition with others, Washington would be particularly unwise to go it alone in a complex global competition." The intrigue: The authors, who both worked on foreign affairs in the Biden administration, wrote the piece before "Liberation Day." But we "kind of saw that coming," Doshi, now a professor of security studies at Georgetown University and director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council of Foreign Relations, tells Axios. Zoom in: Such a coalition would go beyond the traditional post-Cold War frame of the U.S. playing a protector role. This would be more about forging economic partnerships. "I'm talking about us all getting together with our allies, putting tariffs or regulatory barriers up together to protect our industries from China's massive export capacity," Doshi says. "Ideally the U.S. would lower barriers between its allies, to put market share together so that our companies have a bigger playing field." But right now, U.S. allies have the tariffs of Damocles hanging over their heads, says Wendy Edelberg, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. On Wednesday, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on his "reciprocal" tariffs, and it's not the kind of pause that refreshes. "It's not like other countries know for certain that they even have a reprieve," Edelberg says. By the numbers: U.S. tariffs on China now average 134.7%, per a calculation from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. China's been retaliating, this morning raising tariffs on U.S. goods even more to 125%. It could end very badly, though many expect some kind of deal or postponement. "At current tariff levels, U.S. exports to China are no longer marketable," China's tariff commission said in a statement quoted this morning in the Wall Street Journal. "If the U.S. insists on playing the numbers game with tariffs, China will disregard it." The statement adds that China will "fight" if the U.S. persists in harming its interests. Yes, but: "We can put America first and work with other countries at the same time," a White House official tells Axios. "The U.S. is not acting alone in acting on China's unfair trading practices." They note many countries have initiated anti-dumping World Trade Organization investigations against China, and that "even Russia is imposing higher duties on Chinese EV cars." For the record: "President Trump is playing chess while the Chinese are playing checkers, to the detriment of their economy and their people," says Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson. Flashback: The trade war with China during the first Trump administration ended with an agreement. Among other things, China said it would buy $200 billion worth of American imports. That didn't happen. Partly, the coronavirus pandemic got in the way, but other factors were also at play. "Today the only undisputed 'historical' aspect of that agreement is its failure," Chad Bown wrote in a 2022 piece for the Peterson Institute. Reality check: The current Chinese economy is in a bad place. Consumer prices declined for the second month in a row, per data out Wednesday, a worrying sign deflation might be setting in. Unemployment is rising. A trade war with its biggest foreign trading partner is only going to add to its woes. Still, China's leaders believe their country is better able to withstand the fight, Han Lin, the Asia Group China director in Shanghai, said on BBC Business Matters on Wednesday.
