US President Joe Biden will seek this Friday to bring together world democracies and European allies to work together on a common stance on China, but he is not seeking a “new Cold War,” a senior administration official said. The Democratic president, who was sworn in less than a month ago, will make a “virtual visit” to Europe to try to re-establish the United States as a multilateral team player, after four years of the “America first” policy followed by Donald Trump. Biden will arrive with a pledge of $ 4 billion in aid for global coronavirus vaccination efforts, America’s re-entry into the Paris climate accord, and the prospect of a nearly $ 2 trillion spending measure to boost the economy. from the USA.
The president will meet this afternoon with G7 leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan via videoconference, but plans to join them at an in-person summit hosted by London this summer, the official told reporters.
Later, he will attend an ‘online’ session of the Munich Security Conference, in which the main world leaders participate and where several years ago, as a citizen, Biden reassured the participants shaken by the Trump Presidency, “We will return. The new president will stress that democracies, not autocracies, offer the best way forward for the world after the Jan.6 siege of the US Capitol made it clear that democracy is fragile. “It will present a strong and confident case that democracy is the best model to meet the challenges of our time,” the administration said. “Democracy does not happen by accident. We have to fight for it.
THE CHALLENGES OF RUSSIA AND CHINA
Biden will insist that major market economies and democracies must work together to address the challenges posed by major power competitors such as Russia and China, as well as transnational challenges ranging from nuclear proliferation to climate change to cybersecurity, the official said. The US president will speak specifically about the “evil” action that he believes Russia has taken to destabilize and undermine democracy in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, and will ask allies to stand firm with Washington. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied such action.
Concerning China, the world’s second-largest economy, Biden will urge democracies to work together to reject the Chinese government’s practices and policies that he will describe as “economically abusive and contrary to our values.” The Biden White House is reviewing Beijing’s policy on several fronts, including its military consolidation and trade policies, its actions in Hong Kong, its treatment of the minority Uighur in Xinjiang, and its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. “He will make clear in the speech that he is not looking for a confrontation, he is not looking for a new Cold War, but he expects tough competition.
On the challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear program, Biden will say that the United States hopes to engage in diplomacy again, amid efforts to reactivate the agreement that Trump abandoned. On the economic front, Biden will urge other G7 leaders to continue to invest heavily in their economies to foster and accelerate economic growth. “The fear is not that we do too much, it is that we do too little,” said the official. This is an era for action and investment and not for austerity and that will be an important part of the message.
