Biden Welcomes Japan PM For State Visit With Eye On China

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Apr, 2024) US President Joe Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House Tuesday, kicking off a state visit featuring a major upgrade in defense ties against a resurgent China.

A gala dinner and Rose Garden press conference are on the menu for the formal part of the visit on Wednesday, in a sign of the value Washington places on an increasingly self-confident Japan.

The two leaders are expected to unveil plans to restructure the US military command in Japan -- the biggest upgrade to defense cooperation since the 1960s -- to make them more responsive against threats in the Asia-Pacific region.

Kishida, 66, the first Japanese leader to receive full honors from a US president since Shinzo Abe in 2015, arrived on Tuesday night at the White House with his wife Yuko.

Biden, 81, and First Lady Jill Biden then took the Japanese couple to a swanky restaurant in Washington's upscale Georgetown area.

Jill Biden said the visit would "celebrate the flourishing friendship between the United States and Japan.

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"Our nations are partners in a world where we choose creation over destruction, peace over bloodshed, and democracy over autocracy," she told reporters during a preview of Wednesday's state dinner.

The Japanese visit underscores the importance Joe Biden places on building alliances against countries such as China, Russia and Iran in an increasingly uncertain world.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the two leaders would "announce measures to enhance security cooperation, to enable greater coordination and integration of our forces."

On Thursday Biden will host the first ever trilateral summit between Japan, the Philippines and the United States to further expand alliances against China in a critical region.

But hanging over the US and Japanese leaders will be the thorny topic of a Japanese takeover of US Steel, a deal opposed by Biden as he faces a tough reelection battle against protectionist former president Donald Trump.