Biden reaffirms US claim to leadership in the Pacific after meeting with Xi. Israeli army finds significantly fewer Hamas terrorists in Shifa hospital than expected

After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed America’s claim to leadership in the Pacific region. “The United States is a power in the Pacific,” Biden said Thursday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco.

During their meeting on Wednesday, Xi asked him why the US was so involved in the Pacific. The answer is: “Because we are a Pacific country.” The US ensured peace and stability in the region. “We are not leaving,” he emphasized.

“The United States remains critical to the future of the region, and the region is more important than ever to the United States of America,” the Democrat said. His government has paid special attention to the Pacific region from day one. The economic potential there is ‘endless’.

21 countries around the Pacific Ocean work together in the APEC group. In addition to the US and China, these are also Russia, Japan and South Korea. About 40 percent of the world’s population lives in the APEC countries. The bloc together generates about 60 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP).

This year’s APEC summit was overshadowed by Biden’s bilateral meeting with Xi on the sidelines. The presidents sat outside San Francisco for the first time in a year on Wednesday for a lengthy discussion in an effort to stabilize tense relations between the world’s two largest economies. Xi is also attending the APEC summit.

Biden once again assured that the goal was to shape competition between the US and China in a responsible manner. “That is what the world expects from us,” he emphasized. “And I promise you we will do just that.” Both countries have differences on several levels. But the US did not want conflict and had no intention of decoupling its economy from China’s. A stable relationship between the two largest economies is not only good for the US and China, but for the entire world.

Since taking office, Biden has placed a particular emphasis on the Indo-Pacific in terms of foreign policy – ​​also to counter China’s desire for power in the region. Broadly speaking, the Indo-Pacific refers to a region from the Indian to the North Pacific Oceans, encompassing most of Asia and extending to the west coast of the US.

(hah/sda/dpa)