Biden aims to use G20 summit and Vietnam visit to highlight US as trustworthy alternative to China
President Joe Biden hopes to demonstrate to the world at the upcoming Group of 20 summit in India and during a visit to Vietnam that the United States and like-minded allies can be more trustworthy partners than China on economic and security issues
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is looking to demonstrate to the world at the Group of 20 summit in India and during a stop in Vietnam that the United States and its like-minded allies are better economic and security partners than China.
White House officials said Biden, who was set to depart for New Delhi on Thursday evening, will use this year's G20 gathering as an opportunity for the United States to highlight a proposition for developing and middle income countries that would increase the lending power of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund by some $200 billion.
That is an attempt to offer a significant, albeit smaller, alternative to China's massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which the U.S. views as a Trojan horse for China-led regional development and military expansion. Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to skip the summit, where Premier Li Qiang will represent the country.
Afterward the summit, Biden and Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will meet in Hanoi and are expected to announce plans to tighten economic cooperation.
Vietnam and China have robust trade relations, but also deep differences. Vietnam, like Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei, has been in a tense territorial standoff for decades with China, which has claimed authority over waters in the South China Sea that are hundreds of miles from the Chinese coastline.
“I think Xi’s absence at this particular summit, if that comes to pass,
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