Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has promised a conference on “Indo-Pacific affairs” that Washington would be a faithful partner in the region without seeking “domination”.

“The great theme of our engagement is this: where America goes, we seek partnership, not domination,” Pompeo said.

Without naming China, Pompeo told a business forum in Washington DC that the US role in the region would be defined by its opposition to any nation that sought to erect a competing sphere of influence.

“We have never and will never seek domination in the Indo-Pacific, and we will oppose any country that does,” Pompeo said, eliding multiple 20th century wars and 120 years of trade policy.

The United States’ reliability as an economic partner in the region was cast into doubt by Donald Trump’s precipitous withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific partnership with Australia, New Zealand and nine other countries, shortly after his inauguration.

Criticism of Chinese trade policy figured at the center of Trump’s presidential campaign, and his administration’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and other products have prompted Chinese reprisals, leading to fears of a global trade war.



Pompeo sought to allay concerns that the United States was on a reckless economic course, or had forgotten about its regional partners, in the forum sponsored by the US chamber of commerce.

“I speak for President Trump when I say that every nation and business can have confidence that the United States will continue to create the conditions for mutual prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pompeo said.



The Trump administration detailed a plan that exempted Australia from the new steel tariffs in May, and prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Trump reaffirmed a mutual commitment to economic security at a White House meeting in February.

Pompeo made broad claims for US efforts in the Indo-Pacific, heralding “a new era in US economic commitment to peace and prosperity” in the region. He said the United States had committed $113m to new investments in cybersecurity and the digital economy, energy and infrastructure spending.

“Economic security is national security,” Pompeo said. The United States is pursuing bilateral trade agreements in lieu of a regional deal, he said.

“I know some are wondering about America’s role in the region in light of president Trump’s decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” he said. “While we work with our partners to craft better and higher-standard bilateral trade agreements, our companies are continuing to advance US economic interests by growing our presence in the region.”

Speaking to the same conference, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross listed reasons why the Trump administration was uninterested in a regional deal.

“At the end of the day, our relationships tend to end at the bilateral,” Ross said. “It’s not inconceivable that we would end up in some multi-laterals,” he continued, but unlikely because “they take forever to do … they’re very, very complicated.”

Challenged to address concerns that the United States had squandered a major regional opportunity in withdrawing from TPP, Ross said there was no way of knowing what would have happened.

“Unfortunately, with big geopolitical things like the TPP, there is no way to do a controlled experiment, so no one will ever know what would have been the outcome for TPP,” he said, before reminding the crowd that Hillary Clinton had also floated withdrawing from the deal.

“What people have already forgotten, TPP was dead regardless of who won the election,” Ross said.

Pompeo is scheduled to travel to the region next week. He said he would be bringing an invitation to partner with the United States.

“We remain committed to economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region because of the national security benefits for the American people,” he said.

“Today I want to close by inviting any nation, and any business that wants those values enshrined in this region to partner with the United States government,” he said. “A free and open Indo-Pacific is America’s chosen course, and we hope that it will be yours too.”