Biden Meets Japan’s Leader to Boost China-Facing Alliances

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, center, waves, on his departure for the U.S., at Haneda airport, in Tokyo Thursday, April 15, 2021. Suga headed to Washington on Thursday to become a first foreign leader to have a face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden for talks that would reaffirm the strength of their alliance and how to deal with China's growing assertiveness and challenge to democratic values.Kyodo News via AP

President Joe Biden is welcoming Japan’s prime minister to the White House on Friday in his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader, a choice that reflects Biden’s emphasis on strengthening alliances to deal with a more assertive China and other global challenges.

Biden and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also look to counter messaging from Chinese Leader Xi Jinping that America and democracies, in general, are on the decline.