President Biden held his first in-person meeting with a foreign leader on Friday when he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga at the White House for discussions on China, North Korea and progress against the pandemic.
“We are two important democracies in the Pacific region,” Mr. Biden said as he met with Mr. Suga and other Japanese officials in the State Dining Room. “Our cooperation is vital.”
All of the officials around the long conference table wore masks.
Mr. Suga called the Japanese-U.S. relationship a “cornerstone for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.” He expressed condolences for a mass shooting earlier Friday in Indianapolis that left at least eight people dead.
The two leaders are expected to present a united front on Taiwan, a highly sensitive territorial issue for China, whose military has been conducting overflights of the democratically ruled island.
They also will announce a $2 billion Japanese investment in 5G telecommunications to support networks outside the influence of China’s mammoth Huawei Technologies.
Former President Trump, citing national security concerns, banned Huawei from buying U.S. technology and blocked American companies from buying its components. The Biden administration hasn’t decided whether to keep those bans in place.
Mr. Biden is almost finished with a review of his administration’s policy toward North Korea, a key security concern for both leaders.
Due to precautions against COVID-19, Mr. Biden has yet to take any trips abroad to confer with allies. The president tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday before the meeting, and Mr. Suga, 72, received both of his Pfizer vaccinations in Tokyo.
In an unusual sequence, the White House had Vice President Kamala Harris meet first with Mr. Suga on Friday morning at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House. No explanation was offered for why the president wasn’t the first one to greet the prime minister upon his arrival.