[Global Times Special Correspondent in the United States and Germany Xiao Da Qingmu Chen Xin Liu Yupeng] US President Biden will start his first foreign visit after taking office this week, going to Europe to participate in the Group of Seven (G7) summit, NATO summit, US-Europe summit and US-Russia Summit.
For the US government, which regards pulling allies and engaging in small circles as its diplomatic philosophy, this time is obviously very important.
Biden published a signed article in the "Washington Post" on the 6th, explaining the purpose of this trip to unite democratic countries, contain "new age threats," and demonstrate US leadership.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen’s efforts to push the G7 to reach a global tax framework agreement that supports Biden’s proposal before the summit is also considered to be full of intentions to set off a political atmosphere.
In Biden's article, China and Russia are the countries to be named to deal with. Among them, China is mentioned three times.
With so much thought, can the United States do what it wants?
According to the analysis of the US and European media, Europe’s worries are no less than Biden’s confidence.
"A summit carnival"
Biden will leave for Europe on the 9th.
German TV 1 reported on the 6th that according to the plan, Biden will meet British Prime Minister Johnson in London on the 10th, and attend the G7 summit in Cornwall, England from the 11th to the 13th, during which they will meet with Queen Elizabeth.
On the 14th, Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium to participate in the NATO summit, followed by the US-Europe summit on the 15th.
On the 16th, he will go to Geneva, Switzerland to hold a US-Russia summit with Russian President Putin.
"A summit carnival." American Political News Network described Biden's first overseas trip.
The report said that there is no doubt that Biden will seize these opportunities to once again tell his European allies that "the United States is back."
He will recite the words of the solidarity between the two sides of the Atlantic, and will repeatedly reiterate the "eternal" commitment of the United States to the Atlantic Alliance.
German TV station said that Biden and leaders of various countries will discuss the epidemic, global economic recovery, climate change, military and other topics, involving almost every field of international affairs.
However, the meetings are very short. For example, the NATO summit has 2.5 hours of meeting time after the opening ceremony, and each leader only has 5 minutes to speak, so it is impossible to conduct specific discussions.
However, Biden clearly has high hopes for this trip.
On the 6th, he published a signed article entitled "My European Trip Is to Unite Democracies in the World" in the "Washington Post", saying that this visit was "to fulfill the United States' renewed commitment to our allies and partners. And show that democratic countries have the ability to not only meet the challenges, but also contain the threats of the new era."
Biden declared that the United States must lead the world in a strong position, whether it is to end the new crown pneumonia pandemic around the world, to respond to the ever-increasing climate crisis, or to counter the "harmful activities" of the Chinese and Russian governments.
When referring to China, Biden said that the world’s major democracies will provide a high-standard alternative to China’s upgrading of physical, digital, and health infrastructure.
When meeting the leaders of the European Commission and the European Council in Brussels, they will focus on market countries that ensure democracy, rather than China or any other country to formulate 21st century trade and technological rules.
The Syndicate of the World Press commented that although "Biden's drama" is staged in Europe, the ultimate focus will be on China. Pulling allies to deal with China will be the top priority of Biden's European trip.
Regarding Russia, Biden said that the United States does not seek to conflict with Russia, but he also said that he will not hesitate to react to future harmful activities in Russia. When meeting with Putin, he will once again emphasize the United States, Europe and like-minded democracy. The state supports the promise of human rights and dignity.
Russian REN TV reported on the 6th that under Biden’s article, some readers left a message saying: “Biden is ready to unite the world’s democracies? Given that his country’s democracy is on the verge of crumbling, this sounds meaningless. "Some people also say that Americans want to know what Biden has done to safeguard American democracy.
Today’s Russian television commented that Biden and his predecessor Trump are no different. They are not competing for who will achieve the best socio-economic indicators for the country, but for who will take tougher actions against their opponents.
Biden is full of confidence, and Europe has many worries
Biden's meticulous preparation for this trip is not just as simple as writing an article.
On the 5th, the G7 finance ministers reached a consensus on supporting a US proposal, requiring the global minimum corporate tax rate to be set at at least 15% to prevent multinational companies from transferring profits and taxes to countries with low tax rates.
The political considerations behind CNN said that this is part of the Biden administration's ambitious plan to comprehensively reform the global tax system. The United States has been working very hard to reach this agreement before the G7 summit.
This marks a major victory for the Biden administration before the G7 summit, and shows that the group initially has the ability to reach consensus.
"This is the decisive question of our time: In a rapidly changing world, can democracies unite and bring real benefits to our people? Can the democratic alliances and institutions that played an important role in the last century prove them? Capable of dealing with today's threats and opponents?" Biden appeared confident in an article in The Washington Post, saying, "I believe the answer is yes. In Europe this week, we have a chance to prove it."
"Biden is embracing Europe, but what will happen next? The EU and NATO have concerns." The New York Times article on the subject on the 6th poured cold water on Biden.
The newspaper said that the wounds left by the tragic experience of dealing with the last U.S. government will not heal soon. Although Europeans appreciate Biden’s oath, they have witnessed how the 75 years of American foreign policy has changed with the president. And disappeared overnight.
Moreover, they are not sure how Biden's "middle class foreign policy" is different from Trump's "America First".
The German "Berlin Daily" stated that the hopeful and optimistic view is that Biden is launching a new relationship with Europe, but Pugrillin, director of the German branch of the European Commission on Foreign Relations, reminded that this is not unconditional love, but interest. Acquaintance.
A review article on the website of the Carnegie Institute for International Peace stated that although the EU is open to deeper cooperation with the United States and other like-minded partners, most European countries still tend to have multilateral contacts with Beijing and fear that they will become the United States. Tools to compete with China.
According to the New York Times, Europeans are still more dependent on China and Russia than the United States for trade and energy.
Some people are also worried that Biden's definition of the world as a competition between democracy and authoritarianism is too black and white.
There are not only disagreements, but also rifts
The British Prime Minister's Office issued a statement on the 5th that Johnson will urge leaders of all countries to make specific commitments at the G7 summit to allow the world to be vaccinated against the new crown by the end of 2022.
Downing Street quoted Johnson in the statement as saying that this would be the "largest single achievement in medical history."
"Can this outdated small group achieve its extremely challenging summit goals?" The Guardian of the United Kingdom commented on the 6th that Johnson called the G7 summit "historical moments on the planet", but many developing countries Be suspicious of this rich country group.
Just like Johnson is doing now, G7 members boasted but failed to deliver on their promises.
If there is no obvious goal, it is a very difficult task to oppose China and Russia through common democratic values.
For example, Johnson regretfully cut British foreign aid by 4 billion pounds. How can this help Afghan girls go to school?
Before the summit, NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said on the 6th that the close relationship between Russia and China is a "serious challenge in a new dimension."
Sputnik News Agency reported that the NATO summit’s agenda is expected to focus on approving the “NATO 2030 Initiative,” which is a strategic concept designed to replace NATO’s outdated 2010 strategy that does not include the so-called “new threats”.
The Russian "Newspaper" questioned that it is normal for Europe and the United States to coordinate actions, but cooperation between Russia and China is said to be "abnormal."
There are not only differences but also rifts between Europe and the United States.
Not long ago, the media broke the startling scandal of the United States monitoring its European allies.
According to Political News Network, European allies are regarded by Biden as an important part of the anti-China alliance, but they are no longer at the core.
The Prime Minister of Japan and the President of South Korea were the first foreign leaders to visit the White House during Biden's tenure.
The New York Times said that Germany is dissatisfied with the unilateral withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, and believes that this is the old model of European-American relations-Washington makes the decision, followed by allies.
Similarly, Biden's support for the abandonment of intellectual property rights for the new crown vaccine also made European leaders angry and embarrassed.