US President Joe Biden says his country will start talks to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF. The trade initiative is seen as a way for the US to counter China's increasing influence in the region.

Biden made the announcement in Tokyo on Monday, in a meeting attended by leaders of member countries.

He said, "We are writing the new rules for the 21st century economy. We are going to help all of our countries' economies grow faster and fair. We'll do that by taking on some of the most acute challenges that drag down growth and by maximizing the potential of our strongest growth engines."

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said Japan will join the IPEF, and closely cooperate with the United States to complete the new framework.

In addition to the US and Japan, 11 other countries will join the talks. They are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The grouping makes up about 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

The US says the IPEF will focus on four key pillars. They include issues related to digitalization of trade, supply-chain stability, clean energy and anti-corruption measures.

The US has maintained that it will not rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP. That's the trade pact that was initially led by Washington, but the Trump Administration later abandoned.