(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden will host the leaders of Australia, Japan and India for the final Quad leaders summit of his administration later this month — bringing them to his home state of Delaware.
Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia, Narendra Modi of India and Fumio Kishida of Japan will join Biden in Wilmington, Delaware on Sept. 21, the White House announced Thursday, noting that it will be the first time he is hosting foreign leaders in the city as president.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement called it “a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad Leaders, and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries.”
The invitation was first reported by CNN.
The Quad Leaders summit brings together the leaders of four democracies and will highlight one of Biden’s top foreign policy priorities as president — deepening US ties with allies in Asia in a bid to better counter the growing military and economic clout of China in the Indo-Pacific region. Biden won’t be the only one of the four on his way out of office, as Japan’s Kishida is preparing to step down with his party holding a wide-open leadership contest later this month.
The summit will touch on maritime security, infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, climate and clean energy as well as cybersecurity, according to the White House, with the aim of “advancing our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and delivering concrete benefits for partners in the Indo-Pacific in key areas.”
The meeting will take place amid a heated presidential race between Biden’s chosen heir, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republican former President Donald Trump, in which China has become a top election target.
Both candidates are vowing a tougher stance toward the world’s second-largest economy, with Trump pledging to impose a 60% tariff on Chinese goods, while Harris is expected to continue Biden’s “intensive diplomacy” that seeks to enlist US allies to help limit Beijing’s access to cutting-edge technologies.
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