Biden plans to assert American leadership at COP27, G20 summit in Asia [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• President Joe Biden starts a week-long trip to Egypt and Asia on Thursday to attend an international climate summit, an ASEAN meeting, and the annual gathering of the G20.
• It’s Biden’s first international summit and meeting with his new counterparts.
• Biden aims to assert American leadership abroad by talking to China’s Xi, pressuring Russia, and containing North Korea.

President Joe Biden starts a week-long trip to Egypt and Asia on Thursday to engage with some of the United States’ most difficult foreign policy issues.

Biden is set to attend an international climate summit in Egypt on Nov. 11. He will then fly to Cambodia for an ASEAN meeting and the East Asia Summit on Nov. 12 and 13. His last stop will be in Indonesia for the annual gathering of the G20, or Group of 20 industrialized nations, from Nov. 14 to 16.

The U.S. president will hold his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20. Biden is expected to explore China’s “red lines”, discuss punishing Russia for its Ukraine invasion with allies, and talk about containing North Korea after a series of missile tests.

On Wednesday, Biden told reporters he aims to get a deeper understanding of Xi’s priorities and concerns in a meeting on Monday. Taiwan will also be on the agenda with Xi.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August created more tensions between the U.S. and China.

Biden will also reaffirm America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, a rules-based international order in the South China Sea, and discuss trade and China’s relationship with countries in the region, Reuters reported.

Biden will be “unapologetic” in his defense of Ukraine and will address the war’s impact on energy and food security at the G20 meeting, senior administration officials said.

He said on Wednesday that military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine will continue and any territorial compromise between the two countries is up to Ukraine.

Biden is hoping Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to talk about a potential prisoner swap to secure the release of U.S. WNBA star Brittney Griner. However, Kremlin announced Putin will not attend the G20 summit in person but will join one of the meetings virtually.

Biden will also talk to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Nov. 13 to discuss how to contain North Korea’s nuclear program and address its “unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”

Climate change and human rights are also part of Biden’s agenda during the week-long trip abroad.

Source: Reuters