Biden to join G20 Summit in India amidst tense China ties.
President Joe Biden to Attend G20 Summit in India
President Joe Biden is set to travel to India next month to participate in an economic summit, as announced by the White House on Tuesday. From September 7 to 10, the president will join the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in New Delhi.
The G20 brings together the world’s major economies, representing approximately 85 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). It includes the Group of 7 (G7) countries, the EU, and 12 other nations such as China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
“President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement on August 22.
Key Discussions and Expectations
The discussions at the summit will cover various topics, including the clean energy transition, combating climate change, addressing the economic and social impacts of the conflict in Ukraine, and enhancing the capacity of multilateral development banks like the World Bank.
During his visit to New Delhi, President Biden will also hold meetings with several leaders on the sidelines of the summit. However, all eyes will be on his potential interaction with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, as no meeting between the two has been scheduled yet.
At the G7 Summit in Japan earlier this year, President Biden expressed optimism about a potential improvement in relations with China in the near future.
“Everything changed in terms of talking to one another. I think you’re going to see that begin to thaw very shortly,” President Biden stated during a press conference at the close of the summit on May 21.
However, apart from visits by Biden cabinet officials for talks, there have been no significant changes in the relationship between the two countries since then.
President Biden has been seeking another summit with President Xi, but Beijing has reportedly been declining the invitation. The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022.
Anticipation and Diplomatic Efforts
In June, President Biden referred to the Chinese leader as a “dictator” while discussing the spy balloon incident. The Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized Biden’s remarks as “extremely absurd and extremely irresponsible.”
During a recent press conference, President Biden expressed his expectation of meeting with President Xi this fall, hoping to follow up on their previous conversation in Bali.
In line with the Biden administration’s strategy of “intense competition” with China, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will be traveling to Beijing and Shanghai for a series of meetings next week.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized that the president’s focus at the G20 summit will be on strengthening multilateral development banks and empowering the global south, countering China’s influence through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
“The President really wants to use it as an opportunity for the United States and like-minded partners to bring forward a value proposition, particularly for countries of the global south. He will focus a lot of his energy on the modernization of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank,” Sullivan explained.
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