The quad schedule of the quad leaders’ summit shows the group’s importance to the Biden administration: White House

The White House said on Tuesday that the schedule of the summit-level meeting of quad leaders for the first time within fifty days of the Biden administration gave critical importance to the administration.

Press Secretary Jane Saki told reporters about Friday’s virtual meeting between US President Joe Biden, Prime, “the importance that President Biden gave to one of its oldest multilateral programs on close cooperation with our partners and partners Let’s talk to him. ” Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga.

The White House hopes to discuss a number of issues, including COVID-19, economic cooperation and the climate crisis.

The Biden administration has, as one of its foreign policy goals, not re-engaging with the world and allowing a global leadership void (it has been suggested to have been caused by a Trump administration’s relatively secessionist foreign policy) . Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has repeatedly said that a leadership vacuum will either lead to anarchy or one where other countries can step in and act in ways detrimental to American interests.

In his interim strategic guidance to administration agencies and departments released earlier this month, President Biden stated that China was the only competitor capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power, which kept it stable and open. Continually challenged for. International system. “

Yet the Biden administration has cautioned to portray the chowk as something bigger than a group centered around the China challenge. It repeated this situation on Tuesday.

“This (Friday meeting) will showcase the Quad’s ability to pool our capabilities and build the habits of cooperation to meet some of those urgent challenges. Now at the same time, I will just note that the quad is not about any challenge. This is not about any one competitor, ”State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a briefing. He was answering a question to what extent the Sino-US unfavorable relationship will be discussed on Friday.

“It is a forged and constituted entity because we share common interests. There, maritime security is certainly an important one, but our shared interests go beyond this. And I think you will be reflected in the agenda, which is in the common interest in the aftermath of the quad meeting.

Mr. Price also said that President Biden was scheduled to hold a meeting with his counterparts on Friday and that Mr. Blinken had already held discussions with his IV counterparts in February, indicating America’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific Was.

“In the early days of this administration, it was important for us to underline our commitment to the Indo-Pacific, which, as we have said from this forum, is an area that holds tremendous promise for the United States. Also a tremendous challenge. We see ourselves as a Pacific nation, we see ourselves as engaged in the region. We want to deepen that engagement and it is an important platform with important partners with whom we share a good deal, ”he said.