Biden declares world at ‘inflection point’ amid crises
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By JOSH BOAK and AAMER MADHANI
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Joe Biden used his first address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to declare that the world stands and at an “inflection point in history” and must move quickly and cooperatively to address the festering issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, cli- mate change and human rights abuse.
Amid growing China tensions Biden also declared the U.S. is “not seeking a new Cold War.”
Without mentioning China directly, Biden acknowledged increasing concerns about rising tensions between the two nations. But he said, “We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.”
The president noted his decision to end America’s longest war last month, in Afghanistan, and set the table for his administration to shift U.S. attention to intensive diplomacy with no shortage of crises facing the globe. He said he is driven by a belief that “to deliver for our own people, we must also engage deeply with the rest of the world.”
“We’ve ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan,” Biden said. “And as we close this period of relentless war, we’re opening a new era of relentless diplomacy of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world.”
Biden, who arrived in New York on Monday evening to meet with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ahead of Tuesday’s address, offered a full-throated endorsement of the body’s relevance and ambition at a difficult moment in history.
The president, in brief remarks at the start of his meeting with Guterres, returned to his mantra that “America is back“ — a phrase that’s become presidential shorthand meant to encapsulate his promise to take a dramatically different tack with allies than predecessor Donald Trump. In his remarks, he declared the United States was “back at the table.”
But the president was facing a healthy measure of skepticism from allies during his week of high-level diplomacy. The opening months of his presidency have included a series of difficult moments with friendly nations that were expecting greater cooperation from Biden following four years of Trump’s “America first” approach to foreign policy.
Eight months into his presidency, Biden has been out of sync with allies on the chaotic ending to the U.S. war in Afghanistan. He has faced differences over how to go about sharing coronavirus vaccines with the developing world and over pandemic travel restric- tions. And there are ques- tions about the best way to respond to military and eco- nomic moves by China.
Biden also finds himself in the midst of a fresh diplomatic spat with France, the United States’ oldest ally, after announcing plans — along with Britain — to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The move is expected to give Australia improved capabilities to patrol the Pacific amid growing concern about the Chinese military’s increasingly aggressive tactics, but it upended a French defense contract worth at least $66 billion to sell diesel-powered submarines to Australia.
Before Biden’s arrival, EU Council President Charles Michel strongly criticized the Biden administration for leaving Europe “out of the game in the Indo-Pacific region” and ignoring the underlying elements of the trans-Atlantic alliance — transparency and loyalty — in the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the announcement of the U.S.- U.K.-Australia alliance.
Despite such differences, Biden hoped to use his address to the General Assembly as well as a series of one-on-one and larger meetings with world leaders this week to make the case for American leadership on the world stage.
The secretary-general did not back off his concerns about the U.S.-China tensions as he addressed leaders at the opening of Tuesday’s gathering. “It will be impossible to address dramatic economic and development challenges, while the world’s two largest economies are at odds with each other”
Biden put a heavy emphasis on a need for world leaders to work together on the COVID-19 pandemic, meet past obligations to address climate change, head off emerging technology issues and firm up trade rules.
“We will choose to build a better future. We, you and I, we have the will and capaci- ty to make it better. Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot afford to waste any more time. … We can do this.”
The Biden administration on Monday announced plans to ease foreign travel restrictions to the U.S. beginning in November. The U.S. has largely restricted travel by non-U.S. citizens coming from Europe since the start of the pandemic, an issue that had become a point of contention in trans- Atlantic relations.
The new rules will allow foreigners in if they have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test, the White House said Monday.
Biden planned to limit his time at the United Nations due to coronavirus con- cerns. He was to meet with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison while in New York before shifting the rest of the week’s diplomacy to virtual and Washington set- tings.
At a virtual COVID-19 summit Biden is hosting Wednesday, leaders will be urged to step up vaccine- sharing commitments, address oxygen shortages around the globe and deal with other critical pandemic-related issues.