China fears Biden's Indo-Pacific NATO

[Cypress]

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China is alarmed by the Quad. But its threats are driving the group closer together

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, colloquially the Quad, is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.

When the United States, Japan, Australia and India first resuscitated their informal dialogue from a decade-long hiatus in late 2017, China was confident it would soon fail.

More than four years on, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue -- better known as "the Quad" -- is far from dissipating. Instead, it has only grown in momentum, profile and clout.

Convened around the mantra of promoting a "free and open Indo-Pacific," the four countries have held two naval exercises since 2020. Their leaders have assembled three times since last year -- including an in-person summit at the White House.

On Tuesday, the four leaders will meet face to face again in Tokyo. Their summit will be a highlight of Joe Biden's first trip to Asia as the US President, as he seeks to strengthen alliances and partnerships to counter China's growing influence in the region.

The renewed activity has seen China's initial scorn turn into alarm, with Beijing viewing the grouping as part of Washington's attempt to encircle the country with strategic and military allies. Wang, the foreign minister, has decried the grouping as an "Indo-Pacific NATO," accusing it of "trumpeting the Cold War mentality" and "stoking geopolitical rivalry."

That concern has only grown since the Ukraine crisis. Beijing's backing of Moscow has further damaged its global image, leaving it more isolated on the world stage. And that is not helped by China's insistence on a zero-Covid policy, in which stringent border restrictions are cutting the country off from a world that has largely moved on from the pandemic.

While Biden travels the world to reinforce ties, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hasn't left China in 25 months. Biden's latest flurry of diplomacy, with stops in South Korea and Japan, has particularly irked Beijing.

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