Without Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin, the US President will stand out at the G20 Summit

US President Joe Biden is on his way to India for the G20 summit, where he is expected to focus on how to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict and America's commitment to developing economies .

Mr Biden has long been a strong believer in the power of organisations like the G20 to work together at times of global peril, and hopes to focus on issues like climate change and debt restructuring during the two-day summit, which begins on 9 September.

But unlike the smaller G7, the G20 brings together a wider range of countries with different perspectives. For some Western officials, the G20’s role is being questioned amid fracturing interests and conflicting hotspots around the world.

Still, ahead of the G20 summit, aides to President Biden have stressed that they believe the forum still has the potential to produce valuable outcomes. “We hope this G20 summit will show that the world ’s major economies can work together even in challenging times,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said this week.

Opportunity to highlight commitment

Shortly after landing in New Delhi on September 8, President Biden is scheduled to meet with this year’s G20 summit host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Like many countries in the Global South, India has not condemned Russia’s war in Eastern Europe and continues to rely on Moscow for energy products.

This year's G20 Summit attracted attention due to the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In March, a meeting of G20 foreign ministers failed to issue a joint statement condemning Russia for its military campaign in Ukraine, amid objections from representatives of Beijing and Moscow to language referring to the war.

“Of course, Biden is disappointed that President Xi will not be attending the G20,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. “There are many things that will be discussed at the summit that President Xi and Beijing care about, particularly our efforts to reform the World Bank.”

Guests are expected to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, September 9-10, 2023. Graphics: CNN

The White House has asked the US Congress for $3.3 billion in additional funding for the World Bank, which administration officials said would generate $25 billion in additional lending as well as $1 billion in grants to help the poorest countries cope with crises, and $1 billion in global infrastructure financing.

Mr Biden hopes to offer developing nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa an alternative to China's sprawling global plan, known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“The reality is that World Bank reform is not directed against China, in no small part because China is a shareholder in the World Bank,” Mr. Sullivan stressed. “We believe that there needs to be high-standard, non-coercive lending options for low- and middle-income countries,” the US official added.

The contrast between Mr Biden’s presence at the G20 summit, which includes a number of developing countries – and Mr Xi’s absence – will also provide the US president with an opportunity to highlight Washington’s commitment to the developing world.

“With the Chinese president absent, President Biden’s participation will be prominent and it will send a message to the region and the world that America’s commitment is steadfast,” said Yun Sun, senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia Program and director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.

In addition, Mr. Xi's absence also means that there will be no bilateral meeting between the two heads of state of the US and China on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in India, like what happened last year in Bali, Indonesia.

“It's still very early”

But the US president will still be busy with other bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. For example, Mr. Biden may also meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), media reports said, as the US tries to maintain a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The Biden administration’s agenda in the Middle East focuses on further integrating Israel into the region through the Abraham Accords – a 2020 US-brokered pact through which Israel established ties with the UAE and Bahrain, and later Morocco and Sudan.

Mr Sullivan met with Crown Prince MBS – the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia – in Riyadh last July for talks aimed at “advancing a shared vision in the region”.

US President Joe Biden prepares to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, to depart for India. The US leader will arrive in New Delhi at around 7pm on September 8, 2023 to attend the two-day G20 Summit (September 9-10, 2023). Photo: The Hill

“If there is a meeting between Mr. Biden and Crown Prince MBS, it could be much like some of the discussions that Mr. Sullivan had with the Saudis as well as people in the UAE and India earlier this spring, talking about regional cooperation, regional infrastructure projects…” Brian Katulis, vice president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told The National News.

“But if we are talking about an Israel-Saudi normalization agreement, there are a lot of complex issues on the bilateral front between the US and Saudi Arabia that I don’t think are ripe yet. I think it’s in the early stages and it’s still very early,” Katulis said.

According to the expert, Washington and Riyadh are still discussing weapons contracts, defense treaties and US support for Saudi Arabia's civilian nuclear program, including uranium enrichment.

Saudi Arabia has also long insisted that progress toward peace with the Palestinians must come before normalizing relations with Israel.

And on his way back from the G20 Summit in India, US President Joe Biden will stop in Hanoi on September 10 to sign an agreement to deepen ties between Washington and the Southeast Asian nation. The two sides will upgrade their bilateral relationship from a “comprehensive partnership” to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” the highest level in Vietnam’s diplomatic system .

Minh Duc (According to The National News, CNN)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/vang-ong-tap-va-ong-putin-tong-thong-my-se-noi-bat-o-thuong-dinh-g20-a625470.html