US lawmakers from both parties are urging the White House to convene a Quad summit with Indo-Pacific partners before President-elect Donald Trump’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping, aiming to project a unified front and prevent misunderstandings. Experts testified before a congressional commission on the need for better coordination. The Quad, comprising the US, India, Japan, and Australia, is viewed as a mechanism to counter China’s influence in the region.
US lawmakers from both parties are pushing for a Quad summit before President-elect Donald Trump’s trip to China, urging the White House to rally Indo-Pacific partners ahead of the high-stakes meeting with Xi Jinping. The initiative seeks to project a unified front among Indo-Pacific democracies and avert potential misunderstandings during negotiations with Beijing. The Quad, an informal grouping of the US, India, Japan, and Australia, is widely regarded as a mechanism to counter China’s influence in the strategically vital region.
On Tuesday, Lindsey Ford, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, told the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission: “There is real potential for misunderstanding or misalignment on China policy.” Ford, who served as former US President Joe Biden’s senior adviser on South Asia policy, added that US policymakers should make it a “priority to engage at the highest levels with India, both before and after high level meetings” and better coordinate on China policy. The USCC is tasked with providing recommendations to Congress.
Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, testified that there should be “bilateral or Quad consultations to coordinate ahead of key regional and global summits.” She urged “stepping up of Quad activities quantitatively and qualitatively in the security, economic security and technology domains,” describing the Quad as a minilateral “designed in part to offset Chinese advantages regionally and globally.”
This bipartisan effort highlights concerns in Washington over Indo-Pacific coordination, particularly ahead of Trump’s anticipated engagement with Chinese leaders.
