KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — President Joe Biden and China’s Premier Li Keqiang will join an annual summit of 18 Asia-Pacific nations by video Wednesday in a region where the world powers have dueled over trade, Taiwan, democracy, human rights and Beijing’s increasingly assertive actions in disputed territories.
A White House statement Wednesday said Biden will reaffirm U.S. support for the ASEAN-led regional architecture and discuss his vision for working together with allies and partners to address issues facing the Indo-Pacific region. It was the first time since 2017 that a U.S. president is attending the summit, part of three-day high-level meetings hosted by Brunei, ASEAN's chair this year
Relations between Washington and Beijing have plunged to new lows since nosediving under former President Donald Trump's administration, which adopted a confrontational approach on trade, visas, diplomatic representation and educational exchanges.A long-simmering dispute over Taiwan flared up recently after Biden said the U.S. has a firm commitment to help the self-ruled island, which China claims as part of its territory, defend itself in the event of an attack.
The three-day ASEAN meetings have been clouded by a diplomatic standoff after military-ruled Myanmar skipped the summit in protest of ASEAN's move to bar Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, whose forces seized power in February, from attending. Myanmar has refused to send a junior representative to the summit Tuesday and Wednesday, and slammed ASEAN’s move as going against the bloc’s principles of non-interference in each other’s affairs and decision-making by consensus.