Phnom Penh: Ahead of their first face-to-face meeting at the G20 summit next week, US President Joe Biden promised to urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to rein in North Korea when he arrives in Asia on Saturday. Before meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Monday in Bali, Biden went to Phnom Penh to meet with leaders from Southeast Asia. The meeting of the two superpowers came after North Korea conducted a record-breaking string of missile tests, raising fears that the isolated nation would soon conduct its seventh nuclear test.
According to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden will inform Xi during their meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit that China, Pyongyang's main ally, is "interested in playing a constructive role in curbing North Korea's worst trends"
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Additionally, Biden would tell Xi that if North Korea "continues to go down this road," it would simply mean an even stronger US military and security presence in the region. Sullivan claimed that Biden would present "his point of view" to Xi rather than make demands of China.
This is because "North Korea represents a threat not only to the United States, not only to (South Korea) and Japan, but to peace and stability in the entire region."
Sullivan said it is "of course up to them" whether China wants to exert more pressure on North Korea. But as North Korea rapidly builds up its missile capabilities, according to Sullivan, "the operational situation is more acute at the present time."
But as North Korea rapidly builds up its missile capabilities, according to Sullivan, "the operational situation is more acute at the present time."
During discussions with ASEAN, China and South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida added his voice to calls for coordinated international action to end Pyongyang's missile program.
Tokyo and Seoul are increasingly worried about the North Korean test blitz, which includes an intercontinental ballistic missile. Since Biden took office as president in January 2021, the two leaders of the world's two largest economies have spoken on the phone several times.
But they were unable to meet in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Xi's fear of traveling abroad. The two have much to talk about as Washington and Beijing face off on a variety of issues, including trade, human rights in China's Xinjiang region and the status of Taiwan, a self-governing island.
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday urged both sides to cooperate, saying "with a growing risk that the global economy will split in two led by the two largest economies - the United States and China."
In meetings with ASEAN leaders ahead of the G20, Biden will promote America's commitment to Southeast Asia in an effort to counter Beijing's influence in the region.
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In recent years, China has been flexing its muscles as its strategic backyard through trade, diplomacy and military might. According to Sullivan, Biden's agenda upon arrival in Phnom Penh focused on his administration's strategy to "elevate" the US presence in the region as a security guarantee.
According to his statement, Biden will "promote the need for freedom of navigation for lawful, unimpeded commerce, and to ensure that the United States plays a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region."
Both Biden and Xi enter the G20 buoyed by recent political success at home: Biden's party got surprisingly favorable midterm results, and Xi successfully won a historic third term as China's leader.
Weaving a story of China's "inevitable" victory at the Communist Party Congress last month, where he was re-elected as leader, Xi warned of a challenging geopolitical environment without specifically mentioning the United States.
Less than a fortnight after Beijing hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Xi will take the next step in his diplomatic comeback at the G20 summit.
Apart from Biden, Xi will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron before leaving for Bangkok at the end of the week for the APEC summit.
Vladimir Putin, who has been shunned by the West over his invasion of Ukraine, will be absent from the summit and will instead be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
According to the Russian TASS news agency, Lavrov will advance Moscow's position that the United States is "destabilizing" the Asia-Pacific region from a confrontational perspective.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the G20 virtually after his request to address the ASEAN gathering was rejected.