MEXICO CITY, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The so-called Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) launched by the United States threatens global trade and security through exclusion and other tactics that contradict its stated purpose, a Mexican political scientist has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Jaime Tamayo, an international relations expert from the University of Guadalajara, said the initiative lends an "economic disguise" to Washington's political-military strategy targeting China, which aims to provoke conflicts with the Asian country, disrupt its growth and spoil its trade schemes.

The IPEF is part of a confrontational strategy that also relies on the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), said the expert. By forming this security-oriented group with Japan, Australia and India, the United States seeks to create "a kind of mini NATO in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

"The Quad is not a defensive or protection agreement, just as NATO isn't and never was in terms of defending Western Europe. It has always been a vehicle for aggression and expansion," Tamayo said.

According to the expert, the word "Indo-Pacific" reflects the geopolitical nature of the IPEF.

"What they call the Indo-Pacific could be interpreted as a deliberate area to encircle China. In that sense, the IPEF is a murky armed trade mechanism you can't make heads or tails out of, except the intention to take trade away from China," he said.

In Tamayo's view, the IPEF and the Quad can hardly succeed in isolating China, due to the country's strong international trade ties.

However, the IPEF would generate divisions in Asia and fuel conflicts that go beyond trade and economic matters, he said.

Washington's fear of losing global dominance in an increasingly multipolar world order is the only reason why it wants to stop China's growth and progress, and to play down its importance, said Tamayo.

"It (the United States) is an empire that is starting to fall apart and flailing all over the place in an attempt to avoid it, while undertaking increasingly illegitimate actions," he added.