Biden's First Summit Also with Trudeau... "Cooperation on Releasing Canadians Detained in China"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] On the 23rd (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden held a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This was their first bilateral meeting since Biden took office, with the U.S. designating Canada as its first partner in a series of efforts to improve bilateral relations.

During the meeting, President Biden said, "Canada is our closest friend," and added, "I look forward to the day when COVID-19 is quickly controlled so we can meet in person." He also had his first phone call with a foreign leader, Prime Minister Trudeau, on the 22nd of last month, just two days after taking office.

The two countries discussed economic recovery from COVID-19, climate response, refugees, and immigration. They also agreed to cooperate on securing the release of two Canadians detained in China. China arrested former diplomat Michael Kovrig and North Korea businessman Michael Spavor on national security charges in December 2018 and indicted them last year.

President Biden stated, "As leaders of major democracies, we have a responsibility to prove that democracy can still serve the people," and added, "The communication channels between the U.S. and Canada are wide open." Prime Minister Trudeau responded, "This is a great opportunity for us," and said, "We have deeply missed U.S. leadership over the past few years." Having known Biden since his vice presidency, Trudeau also referred to him familiarly as "Joe."

After their remarks, the two leaders held an expanded private meeting with key aides. From the U.S. side, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury, and the White House National Security Advisor attended. From Canada, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Minister Marc Garneau were present.

President Biden has been working to improve relations with Canada since taking office. This has drawn attention as a potential change in the deteriorating bilateral relations during the Donald Trump administration.

However, shortly after taking office, Biden faced Canadian backlash by nullifying the "Keystone XL Pipeline" project through his first executive order. The project, initiated in 2008, was a large-scale oil pipeline construction connecting Alberta’s oil fields in Canada to Texas in the U.S. Biden canceled the approval for environmental protection reasons. Prime Minister Trudeau reportedly expressed disappointment during a phone call with Biden on the 22nd of last month.

Meanwhile, this meeting was held via video conference to prevent the spread of COVID-19. President Biden plans to conduct bilateral meetings in video format instead of face-to-face summits with foreign leaders for the next two to three months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.