President Joe Biden arrives in Washington on Wednesday evening after a whirlwind slate of summits across two different continents — his largest opportunity yet to play diplomat-in-chief among other world leaders in a world reemerging from the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Joe Biden arrives in Washington on Wednesday evening after a whirlwind slate of summits across two different continents – his largest opportunity yet to play diplomat-in-chief among other world leaders in a world reemerging from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trip – spanning Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia for summits focused on climate, Southeast Asia and the global economy – came at a tricky moment, challenging the president to balance his attention on both ongoing domestic political battles and the international matters in front of him.
Biden, for instance, would be thousands of miles away from Washington as votes continued to be tabulated in midterm races across the country. He would be in Indonesia while his 2020 competitor and predecessor, former President Donald Trump, announced his third run for the presidency in Florida. And through it all, Biden would try to thread the needle of diplomacy with allies and adversaries who might not know if his brand of foreign policy would stick around for the long term.
But flying away from Asia on Wednesday, the president departed having been able to celebrate some political victories while abroad, smooth over some of the pricklier dynamics he’d faced with key leaders without promising any deliverables and test the mettle of his alliances when an emergency called on them to come together and hatch a plan.
Here are takeaways from Biden’s trip:
Biden held three-hour talks on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali on Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first in-person meeting since Biden took office. The meeting was a chance to smooth over longstanding tensions. Though the two leaders left without resolving the litany of issues that have helped drive the US-China relationship to its lowest point in decades, they committed to reestablishing coordination.
Relations have deteriorated rapidly amid economic disputes and an increasingly militarized standoff over Taiwan. The tensions have led to a decline in cooperation on areas where the two countries once shared common interests, like combating climate change and containing North Korea’s nuclear program.
Emerging from the talks afterward, Biden told reporters that both he and Xi were “open and candid” about their disagreements. And importantly, Biden cast doubt on an imminent invasion of self-governing Taiwan, and seemed hopeful his message about avoiding all-out conflict was received.
“I’m not suggesting this is kumbaya,” Biden said at a news conference, “but I do not believe there’s a need for concern, as one of you raised a legitimate question, a new Cold War.”
“He was clear, and I was clear that we will defend American interests and values, promote universal human rights and stand up for the international order and work in lockstep with our allies and partners,” Biden continued.
