"Dialogue from a Position of Strength" Biden Signs Infrastructure Bill Before Meeting with Xi (Summary)

$1.2 Trillion Scale... Saki Spokesperson: "Invested More Than China in 20 Years"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] On the 15th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment bill ahead of his first virtual summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The event, held grandly in the White House garden with 800 attendees, was deliberately scheduled before the U.S.-China summit, according to analyses from U.S. political circles.

On this day, President Biden signed the infrastructure budget bill that he had been prioritizing since the beginning of his term.

President Biden announced the starting point for improving American infrastructure with a strong voice.

After signing the bill to improve U.S. infrastructure such as roads, bridges, broadband communications, and public transit transfers, President Biden emphasized, "My message to the American people is that America is moving again, and your lives will change for the better."

Before the signing, leading Democratic figures and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke one after another, and the event continued for nearly an hour in a festive atmosphere.

U.S. media reported that the Biden administration hopes the signing of this infrastructure bill will help boost its falling approval ratings, but some view the event as a planned message to show that the U.S. will not fall behind in competition with China.

President Biden, who took office in January, emphasized in March that improving America's poor infrastructure and securing future growth engines is a "once-in-a-generation investment." He then requested Congress to pass a $2.25 trillion physical infrastructure budget.

However, the Republican Party opposed the budget bill citing debt concerns.

President Biden had expressed concern that if the infrastructure investment bill stalled in Congress, the U.S. would fall behind in competition with China. He regarded infrastructure investment as a tool for competing with China.

Subsequently, through additional negotiations with bipartisan lawmakers, a dramatic agreement was reached on a $1.2 trillion budget.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated at the daily briefing that the signing of the infrastructure bill "enables President Biden to enter the meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping from a position of strength."

Psaki also said, "The infrastructure bill will allow us to invest more in infrastructure than China for the first time in 20 years."

Conservative media outlet Fox Business also reported that President Biden will enter the summit armed with a powerful weapon?the infrastructure bill that enables competition with China.

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