"America is Back" Biden's Europe Visit Emphasizes Building Alliances to Counter China and Russia

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in the United Kingdom, his first overseas destination since taking office, declaring that America is back and expressing a strong commitment to restoring democratic alliances to counter China and Russia.

On the 9th (local time), President Biden visited U.S. military forces stationed in the UK and said in a speech, "America is back. Democracies around the world will come together to face the most important and difficult challenges and issues of our future."

He also emphasized that democratic countries must unite to confront China and achieve security and economic prosperity. He stressed, "When the United States brings together like-minded countries, it will be in a better position to advance national security and economic prosperity."

President Biden went on to announce that he and global leaders will take action to fight COVID-19 and mitigate climate change.

He specifically mentioned discussing joint responses to the recent increase in hacking attacks with G7 leaders. President Biden raised his voice, saying, "New technologies and norms of behavior in cyberspace must not be established by dictators who allow ransomware attacks." This is interpreted as a call for a strong G7-level united response against China and Russia, who are either conducting or abetting hacking and ransomware attacks.

Before departing for the UK, President Biden also stated, "The goal of this trip is to strengthen alliances and make clear that the bond between Europe and the U.S. is strong and that the G7 will act against Putin and China."

President Biden also expressed his intention to uphold Article 5 of the NATO Charter, seemingly reaffirming Europe's defense commitment against Russia. Article 5 of the NATO Charter states that an attack on a NATO member is considered an attack on all members, prompting immediate individual or collective response. Former President Trump had refused to commit to upholding this provision.

During his European visit, President Biden is also expected to announce on the 10th a plan to donate 500 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries. This is also seen as a measure to urge a democratic bloc-level response against China and Russia's vaccine diplomacy.

Regarding this, Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, told reporters, "The U.S. vaccine donation will serve as a lever to enable democratic countries to supply more COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries."

Advisor Sullivan expressed optimism about the trip's outcome, saying, "When President Biden returns to Washington, we will be in a position to manage the threats and challenges we currently face, including COVID-19, climate change, China, cyberattacks, Russia, and trade."

During the eight-day trip, President Biden plans to attend the G7 Summit, the European Summit, and the NATO Summit consecutively, focusing on democratic solidarity, international COVID-19 response strategies, and climate change measures, thereby reorganizing his leadership role in the international community against China and Russia.

President Biden is also expected to redefine relations with the United Kingdom, which has left the European Union (EU), during this trip. On the 10th, he is scheduled to hold talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and reportedly agree to resume travel between the two countries soon. After the G7 Summit, President Biden will also meet with Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.

At the summit scheduled for the 16th with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he is expected to take a tough stance on hacking, human rights violations, the Ukraine issue, and nuclear weapons negotiations.

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