The United States has announced that it will host a ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework later this month.
The IPEF is an economic partnership among 14 countries including Japan, the US, India and Australia. The administration of US President Joe Biden said on Thursday the ministers will meet in Detroit on May 27.
The member states agreed last September to launch negotiations in four areas, including strengthening supply chains for critical goods and facilitating trade through digital technology.
The US, which leads the initiative, says "the Detroit meeting is an important milestone in IPEF negotiations, as it will mark one year since the framework was officially launched in Tokyo in May" last year.
Washington is seeking an early conclusion of negotiations in a bid to counter China, but, unlike other economic partnerships, the IPEF does not cover the elimination or reduction of tariffs.