President Biden will host the leaders of Australia, India and Japan at the White House on September 24, the first time the leaders of the “Quad” countries will meet to hold a summit in person.
Why it’s important: Raising the Quad is a key aspect of Biden’s strategy to compete with China. The four countries have held their head with Beijing in recent years, making them increasingly willing to cooperate in a forum that Beijing rejects as an anti-Chinese bloc.
- The leaders met virtually in March and announced a plan to increase the supply of vaccines to Southeast Asian countries, a plan that was later complicated when India stopped most vaccine exports.
- The White House referred to the rally as the “first summit of Quad leaders,” a description that seems to suggest that there could be additional summits.
- It will be the first visit to the Biden White House for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visited him in April.
What to see: Quad countries are not always aligned in terms of their close coordination or willingness to risk angering Beijing. Still, some in Washington see the Quad as the foundation of what could end up becoming a NATO for the 21st century.