First on CNN: Biden to host ‘Quad’ leaders in Delaware City as he bolsters foreign policy legacy | CNN Politics


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President Joe Biden will welcome the leaders of Australia, India and Japan for the final “Quad” summit of his term this month, and will host the event in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, senior administration officials said. told CNN.

The meeting comes as the president rearranges plans for the final months of his term, turning his attention from campaigning for re-election to domestic and foreign policy issues, including forging alliances. Working as he prepares to hand over to the next administration. .

Biden has long made developing personal relationships a hallmark part of his foreign policy work, making the city summit a fitting coda to the partnership that has been central to the president’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

The Quad Summit, which will be attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, will be held in New York City on September 21 before the United Nations General Assembly. Senior officials told CNN. .

India was originally slated to host this year’s summit, but officials agreed to move the summit to the United States as world leaders travel to the United Nations General Assembly, with plans to host India next year.

Officials said the decision to host the event at the president’s mansion on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York City was deliberate, emphasizing Biden’s commitment to strengthening his personal relationships as part of his alliance-building strategy.

White House officials have zeroed in on planning for the summit in recent weeks, seeking to include personal contacts, including those important to the president’s life.

Biden’s advisers have seen the decision to upgrade the Quad relationship to a leadership level in 2021 as a key to reinvigorating the alliance with China’s growing influence in the region.

“What the Quad really shows us is that the region and our partners were willing to take this small-scale approach, and that they really tried to build the collective capacity as a result of that effort that, frankly, we and to help keep it more peaceful and stable despite all the challenges it faces,” a senior administration official told CNN on Thursday. .

“The act of bringing together these four leading maritime democracies … is exactly the kind of alliance activity we need at this moment,” the official added.

The group has met three more times in person — once in the United States and twice in Japan — and the president has hosted each leader for a state visit at the White House as he seeks to deepen cooperation with the countries. is

Leaders are expected to have “strategic dialogue” and produce “concrete deliverables” during the summit, including “major signature initiatives in the health and health security space”, “cooperation in the space of humanitarian and natural disasters”. and effort. Building on the existing Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, the official said, is a key initiative aimed at countering China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

The meeting will come just weeks before the November election, which world leaders are waiting for as they wait to learn whether they will work with Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump when Biden runs in January. leaving the office.

But the leaders also have an eye on building an alliance for the future.

“While the Quad is certainly central to President Biden’s legacy in the Indo-Pacific, it is increasingly an institution that you can expect to be here as part of our foreign policy,” senior Officials said they are looking at future funding. Alliance support through the national budget and “steps to demonstrate that the Quad is a bipartisan initiative that will have long-term support, including the support of the US Congress.”

Kishida is also set to leave office this month after abandoning his re-election bid, setting up a farewell moment for half of the Quad’s leaders next weekend. Kishida’s successor, the official said, is expected to be “fully committed to the Quad”.

The leaders have developed a “deep personal bond” over the past three years, the official notes, as they face “common challenges.”

“When these four leaders meet in a room, they can basically finish each other’s sentences. They know which strategic issues are most important to the other,” the official said.

As he enters his presidency, advisers have indicated that the president will lean on foreign policy issues as he seeks to strengthen his legacy in his final months in office.

These include a possible trip to the G20 summit in Brazil and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru in November. White House officials are also eyeing Biden’s possible trip to Germany and Africa in October, a source familiar with the matter said.

National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said: “The president will be engaged every day with global adversaries, engaged with his national security team to address challenges and take advantage of future opportunities.” scheduled last month.

Biden’s team is also preparing for a phone call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks. Sullivan left open the possibility that the two would meet on the sidelines of the next summit in November. China has at times participated in US efforts to strengthen alliances in the region, including through the Quad Partnership.

The Quad summit will mark the first time since taking office that Biden has welcomed world leaders to his hometown, just 100 miles from the White House. Last year, he hosted a tripartite meeting between Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at Camp David.

There are some examples of hosting world leaders in the presidential town. Former President George W. Bush welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Crawford, Texas in 2001 to discuss nuclear weapons. As Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at their Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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