The US Deputy Secretary Plays to the crowd in the city-state as China's 20th Communist Party Congress draws to an end.

US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo held a wide-ranging speech at the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday during the Singapore stop of an Asia tour that included the APEC Finance Ministers Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand a few days earlier.

Without directly referencing China, he discussed the increasing importance of Asia to the world's economy, saying it was on track to contribute more than half of global GDP by 2040 and 40 percent of all consumption, with the region's share of global capital flows standing now at 23 percent when compared to 13 percent just a decade ago.

«But being on the ground, in Thailand and here in Singapore, tells an even richer version of that story. Meeting with Singapore’s leading financial institutions, speaking with your government officials, and seeing the economic activity around me, it is clear that Asia’s economic engine is in high gear,» Adeyemo said.

Stronger Global Economy

In words that were clearly calculated to please the audience in attendance, he said that both the US government and the private sector were fully cognizant of this and that the region stood at the forefront of its strategy to build a stronger, and more resilient, global economy.

He remarked that US President Biden's Indo-Pacific economic framework (IPEF) would be key to helping tackle the critical issues of the future, including the climate crisis and the transition to cleaner sources of energy.

«What Secretary Yellen has called “friend-shoring” is another perfect example of our thinking—we need to create a global economy that will remain resilient in the face of new challenges by building supply chains and trade flows that reflect the strength of our alliances, especially here in Asia,» Adeyemo said.

More US Growth

He indicated that current legislation in the US, including the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPs act, and the inflation reduction act would help to generate economic growth in the US.

«We also know that Asia’s economies cannot be expected to generate global prosperity on their own. That is why President Biden has taken action to position the U.S. to succeed and compete in the 21st century economy and to continue to generate growth that will benefit your people, as well as ours,» Adeyemo said.

He believed the current steps would position the US to be a preferred partner for Singapore and other countries that have joined the IPEF.

Deja Vu

However, all of this, taken together, must have come across as some kind of deja vu for those attending. It must have at least felt somewhat unsettling for some that China was at least not mentioned in passing, given it is the world's second-largest economy, the largest in Asia - and the de facto engine for much of the growth initially outlined by Adeyemo.

Whether intentional or not, it must have at least engendered certain misgivings in some that the region had returned to one where superpower rivalries were back on the table more explicitly than not, given that the timing of the visit, and the speech, were the day before the end of the 2oth China Communist Party congress.