OTTAWA听–听US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented a united front on Friday against authoritarian regimes as Biden visited the Canadian capital聽days after the leaders of China and Russia held a Moscow summit.
Images of Mr. Biden and Mr. Trudeau standing side by side in 翱迟迟补飞补听announcing agreements聽including聽on semiconductors聽and聽migration represented a聽肠辞耻苍迟别谤听point to the scene in Moscow days ago.
There, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin professed friendship 补苍诲听聽as Russia struggles to make gains in what the West considers an unjust invasion of Ukraine.
At a joint news conference with Mr. Trudeau, Mr. Biden questioned聽the level of China聽and Russia’s聽cooperation,听noting that聽China has not provided weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.
Mr. Biden said the US had expanded alliances includingwith NATO, the G7, South聽Korea and the Quad nations of the聽US, Australia, India and Japan.
“We have significantly expanded our alliances,” said Mr. Biden.聽“Tell me how in fact you see a circumstance where China has made a significant commitment to Russia. What commitment can they make?”
Addressing Canada’s parliament, Mr. Biden said that,听补蝉听NATO members, the two countries would “defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Mr. Trudeau told the news conference that Ukraine was a top聽issue.
“Today we reaffirmed our steadfast support for the Ukrainian people as they defend themselves against Putin’s brutal and barbaric invasion,” Mr. Trudeau said.
SEMICONDUCTORS, EVS
At the news conference, Trudeau announced the two leaders had signed an agreement with IBM to聽develop semiconductor capacity聽and ease reliance on foreign makers after supply-chain problems聽bedeviled both countries.
The US Defense Production Actwill give聽$250 million, Biden said.
Canada has an abundance of the critical minerals used to produce batteries and electric vehicles (EVs), but China currently dominates the global market.
Trudeau is preparing a budget to be published on Tuesday aimed at scaling up critical mineral and clean tech聽.
“With growing competition, including from an increasingly assertive China, there’s no doubt why it matters that we turn to each other now to build up a North American market on everything from semiconductors to solar panel batteries,” Mr. Trudeau said.
Mr. Biden announced $50 million to incentivize聽US and Canadian companies to invest in packaging semiconductors聽补苍诲听said Canada would provide up to C$250 million ($182 million) for semiconductor projects in the near term, according to a joint statement.
The two countries also agreed聽on an聽energy transformation task force focusing on clean power 补苍诲听惫辞飞别诲听to cooperate on聽a “North American critical minerals supply chain,” the statement said.
Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, two聽Canadian men that China聽聽for more than 1,000 days until 2021,听attended the speeches. Both leaders addressed the men, who had been聽at the centre of a dispute between Washington 补苍诲听Beijing.
“They’re not diplomatic leverage. They’re human beings with lives and families that must be respected,” Mr. Biden聽said.
Ahead of their meetings, the two leaders had already struck a deal aimed at聽 from traversing the shared US-Canada land border via unofficial crossings.
“The United States and Canada will work together to discourage unlawful border crossings and fully implement the updated Safe Third Country Agreement,” Mr. Biden said of the deal. Canada agreed to take in 1,500 migrants from countries in the “Western Hemisphere” as part of the deal. – Reuters
