Biden looks to turn page on 20 years of war at UN
WASHINGTON » President Joe Biden begins his first visit to the U.N. General Assembly ready to make the case to world leaders that after closing the book on 20 years of war, the U.S. aims to rally allies and adversaries to work together on a slew of crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and trade and economics.
The president could face a healthy measure of skepticism when he arrives in New York on Monday to start a week of high-level diplomacy. The opening months of his presidency have included a series of difficult moments with friendly nations that were expecting greater cooperation from Biden following four years of Donald Trump’s “America first” approach to foreign policy.
Eight months into his presidency, Biden has been out of sync with allies on the chaotic ending to the U.S. war in Afghanistan. He has faced differences over how to go about sharing coronavirus vaccines with the developing world and over pandemic travel restrictions and the best way to respond to military and economic moves by China.
Biden also finds himself in the midst of a fresh diplomatic spat with France, the United States’ oldest ally, after announcing plans — along with Britain — to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The move is expected to give Australia improved capabilities to patrol the Pacific amid growing concern about the Chinese military’s increasingly aggressive tactics, but it upended a French defense contract worth at least $66 billion to sell diesel-powered submarines to Australia.
Despite such differences, Biden is looking to use his Tuesday address to the General Assembly as well as a series of one-on-one and larger meetings with world leaders this week to make the case for American leadership on the world stage.
“There are points of disagreement, including when we have disagreed with the decisions other countries are making, the decision points of when countries have disagreed with the decisions we’re making,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “But the larger point here, and what you’ll hear the president talk about tomorrow, is that we are committed to those alliances, and that always requires work from every president, from every global leader.”
Biden was set to arrive in New York on Monday afternoon and had an evening meeting scheduled with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutterres.
Ahead of the meeting, the secretary-general told The Associated Press that he was concerned about the “completely dysfunctional” U.S.-China relationship and that it could lead to a new cold war. Psaki said that the administration disagreed with the assessment, adding that the U.S.-China relationship was “one not of conflict but of competition.”
In his address on Tuesday, Biden plans to put a heavy emphasis on the need for the world leaders to work together on the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting past obligations to address climate change, the need to head off emerging technology issues and firming up rules of the road on trade matters, White House officials said.
Biden is expected to release new plans to assist the global vaccination effort, and will talk about the U.S. plan to meet its part of financial commitments that the U.S. and other developed nations made in 2009 to help poorer nations adopt clean energy technology, assistance that was due to kick in annually last year, according to a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the president’s remarks.
Ahead of his departure, the Biden administration announced plans to ease foreign travel restrictions to the U.S. beginning in November. The U.S. has largely restricted travel by non-U.S. citizens coming from Europe since the start of the pandemic, an issue that had become a point of contention in trans-Atlantic relations.
The new rules will allow foreigners in if they have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test, the White House said Monday.
Biden plans to limit his time at the UNGA due to coronavirus concerns. He’ll meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison while in New York before shifting the rest of the week’s diplomacy to virtual and Washington settings.
At a virtual COVID-19 summit Biden is hosting Wednesday, leaders will be urged to step up vaccinesharing commitments, address oxygen shortages around the globe and deal with other critical pandemic-related issues.