President Joe Biden has long wanted the spotlight on Beijing as the Big Bad of global politics. But his meetings with Asian leaders at the White House this week are serving as a reminder of how much China has taken second billing to crises in Europe and the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit was center stage Wednesday, a powerful symbol of the decadeslong allies’ team up against China. He met with Biden in the Oval Office to discuss military, economic and space-related matters before addressing reporters. Both leaders will then sit down for a state dinner.
But just behind the curtain lingered all the other world events occupying Biden’s time. The president is trying to convince Congress to pass military aid for Ukraine, dissuade Iran from launching strikes against Israel and press Israel into letting more aid into Gaza.
White House officials are frustrated that they could not fully turn toward China, even as Biden has repeatedly declared that the competition with the globe’s other superpower will define this century.
“There’s always more we could do” on Indo-Pacific policy, said a senior administration official, noting other crises can take presidential attention away from the central foreign policy facing the United States. Still, the official stressed “this week shows we’re doing a lot.” The official, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal thinking.
Administration officials tout Kishida’s visit and a Thursday trilateral session with Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a step toward a course correction and key to making China a regional pariah. The meetings aim to show the U.S. has created a “lattice-like strategic architecture” to counter China, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday night ahead of the announcement.
The American and Japanese leaders delivered that message on Wednesday. Kishida invoked a need for cooperation with China but repeatedly…
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