U.S. President Joe Biden will host a first in-person summit of leaders of the "Quad" countries — Australia, India, Japan and the United States — which have been seeking to enhance cooperation to push back against China's growing assertiveness.
The summit will be held at the White House in Washington on September 24, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement. The U.S. visits of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will coincide with the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which Biden will address on September 21.
A virtual meeting of the Quad leaders was held in March, and they pledged to work closely on COVID-19 vaccines and climate change, and to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of challenges from Beijing.
"Hosting the leaders of the Quad demonstrates the Biden-Harris administration's priority of engaging in the Indo-Pacific, including through new multilateral configurations to meet the challenges of the 21st century," Psaki said.
Kurt Campbell, Biden's Indo-Pacific coordinator, said in July the long-planned in-person meeting should bring "decisive" commitments on vaccine diplomacy and infrastructure.
Biden, who is pushing big infrastructure spending at home, said in March he had suggested to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that democratic countries should have an infrastructure plan to rival China's massive Belt and Road Initiative, which involves projects from East Asia to Europe.
Psaki said the Quad leaders would "be focused on deepening our ties and advancing practical cooperation on areas such as combating COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific."
A senior U.S. official said infrastructure would be among a range of topics discussed at the summit.
Withdrawal from Afghanistan
The Quad meeting will come after Biden's image has taken a battering over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. U.S. officials have said ending America's longest war will allow the administration to divert resources and attention to tackling China-related issues.
Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan, welcomed the plan to host the Quad leaders.
"Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal debacle made India's neighborhood more dangerous & raises legitimate questions for Japan and Australia as well, so it's good we will be hosting Quad partners soon," he said on Twitter.
"We must repair & renew our alliances, and this one is key."
COVID vaccines
The vaccines initiative from the first summit stalled after India, the world's largest vaccine producer, was hit by a catastrophic wave of infections and halted vaccine exports.
At the March summit, the four leaders agreed Indian drugmaker Biological E. Limited would produce at least a billion coronavirus vaccine doses by the end of 2022, mainly for Southeast Asian and Pacific countries.
Japan's Kyodo News reported last week that Suga would visit Washington this month for the Quad meeting even though his term as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party — and by default as Japan's prime minister — ends September 30.
Suga became the first leader to hold a face-to-face White House summit with Biden in April, underscoring Japan's central role in U.S. efforts to face down China.