Debt-Limit Fight Undermines US Pitch of Stability to Allies Wary of China
- Biden scraps stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea
- ‘How do we think we look to the rest of the world?’: analyst
President Joe Biden’s trip to Asia, intended to assure fretful allies that the US remains a reliable partner in the face of China’s assertiveness, is doing just the opposite.
What was billed as a three-nation tour to highlight the US commitment to Asia looks much-diminished after the White House said Biden will scrap stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia to focus on debt-limit talks with Republicans. He’s still going to a Group of 7 meeting in Japan where allies will confront what they call China’s economic pressure on less powerful countries.