Biden Arrives in Peru for International Summit to Meet Xi Jinping

Lima: President Joe Biden arrived Thursday in Peru to start his six-day visit to Latin America for final major international summits of his presidency, even as world leers turn ir attention to what Donald Trump's return to White House means for ir countries.

visit to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru and stops in Amazon rainforest and at Group of 20 leers summit in Brazil offer Biden one of his last chances as president to meet with hes of state he's worked with over years.

But world leers' eyes are firmly affixed on Trump.

y alrey are burning up Trump's phone with congratulatory talks. At least one leer, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, is dusting off his golf clubs, in case chance to bond with golf-loving Trump should present itself.

White House officials insist that Biden's visits will be substantive, with talks on climate issues, global infrastructure, counternarcotic efforts and one-on-one meetings with global leers, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a joint meeting with South Korea's Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

meeting with Yoon and Ishiba would aim to solidify progress me since ir initial meeting last year, White House national security viser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One. That includes tightening security and economic cooperation amid increasingly tense relations with China and North Korea.

It also would be an opportunity for m to discuss North Korean troops going to Russia to help with war in Ukraine, Sullivan said.

He says Biden ministration is working to ensure three-country meeting is “an enduring feature of American policy.” He expects it would continue under Trump, noting its bipartisan support, but acknowledged it was up to incoming president's team.

Biden's South American trip comes a day after he met with Trump in White House. That wide-ranging discussion touched on conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine.

“I wanted — I asked — for his views, and he gave m to me,” Trump told New York Post after his conversation with Biden.

Sullivan indicated that White House officials also are making clear to Trump's team that delicate US-China relationship is “paramount priority for incoming ministration.” He stressed risks if stability is upended in Taiwan Strait: “that would be catastrophic for everyone involved — for Taiwan, for Beijing, for us, for world,” he said. “Because of size of risk, even if it's not that likely, it's something that has to be at top of agenda.” Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and vows to annex it — by force if necessary. U.S. is Taiwan's biggest unofficial ally and is bound by law to provide island with means to defend itself.

Trump is nominating noted China hawks for key positions: Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Florida Rep. Mike Waltz for his national security viser.

White House h been working for months to arrange meeting with Xi, whose country is United States' most prominent economic and national security competitor.

For Xi, front of mind will be Trump's campaign promise to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports. White House officials avoided commenting in detail about how Biden will approach conversations with Xi and or world leers about Trump.

Those officials say Biden also will use summits to press allies to keep up support for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's invasion and not lose sight on finding an end to wars in Lebanon and Gaza. That includes bringing home hostages held by Hamas for more than 13 months.

Between summits, Biden will visit Amazon rainforest, first such visit by a sitting US president.

James Bosworth, founder of Latin America-focused political consultancy Hxagon, said Biden will use one of his last big moments in international spotlight “to reassure world that transitions of power are normal for democracies.” “Biden will get public applause and praise, even as world leers nervously await transition,” Bosworth said.

Biden's meeting with Xi will likely be most consequential moment during American president's time in South America.

Biden has tried to maintain a stey relationship with Xi even as US ministration repeatedly has raised concerns about what it sees as malign action by Beijing.

US intelligence officials have assessed that China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and or technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and or weaponry to use against Ukraine. Biden ministration last month imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies accused of directly helping Russia build long-range attack drones.

Tensions flared last year after Biden ordered shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed across intercontinental United States. And Biden ministration has criticized Chinese military assertiveness toward Japan, Philippines and Taiwan.

During campaign, Trump spoke of his personal connection with Xi, which started out well during Republican's first term before becoming strained over disputes about tre and origins of COVID-19.

In a congratulatory message to Trump, Xi called for US and China to manage ir differences and get along in a new era, according to Chinese state media.

Biden finds himself in a similar position to when n-President Barack Obama traveled to Peru in 2016 for annual APEC leers garing soon after Trump's first White House victory.

World leers peppered Obama with questions about Trump's win would mean.

“His message was to wait and see ... because we didn't know Donald Trump,” said Victor Cha, a National Security Council official in George W. Bush ministration. “Now we're in a very different situation where we do know what first Trump ministration was like." 

(This story is not edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed)