Joe Biden on Friday welcomed Japan's prime minister for the first summit of his presidency, with the allies expected to signal progress on 5G technology and climate change amid a concerted US push to compete with China.
Biden waited nearly three months to receive his first foreign guest due to the Covid-19 pandemic and still observed social distancing and did away with a customary meal together as he and his cabinet met Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Echoing Biden, Suga said the US-Japan relationship is "connected by universal values such as freedom, democracy and the rule of law."
"This is a time like no other in which the Japan-US alliance needs to be strong," Suga said when he started the day by meeting separately with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden's decision to invite Suga as his first guest -- with South Korean President Moon Jae-in set to come in May -- is meant to show the value his administration puts on allies as he zeroes in on a rising China as America's most pressing challenge.
"I would say that this should send a strong message," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said of the invitations.
On another key priority of Biden, Psaki said that Suga was expected to announce a new 2030 target on reducing carbon emissions responsible for climate change.
The world's third-largest economy promised under the Paris accord to reduce emissions by 26 per cent by 2030 but from 2013 levels -- goals that experts say are not ambitious enough to meet Suga's goal of a carbon-neutral Japan in 2050.
Biden will lead a virtual summit next week in hopes of rallying greater commitments on climate amid growing evidence of a planetary crisis as average temperatures hit record highs and natural disasters become more frequent.