Biden, Trudeau pledge to counter China, climate change, in warm first ‘meeting’

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought on Tuesday to turn the page on the Trump era, stressing the countries’ deep ties and pledging to work together to counteract Chinese influence and address climate change.

“The United States has no closer friend, no closer friend than Canada,” Biden told Trudeau via an electronic video link with the Canadian leader and top aides. “That’s why you were my first call as president (and) my first bilateral meeting,” he said.

After talking for about two hours, the two leaders emerged and said they planned to work closely together to beat the COVID-19 pandemic and combat climate change, with a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Trudeau also thanked Biden for reiterating U.S. support for the release of two Canadians held by China, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. “Human beings are not bartering chips,” Biden said. “We’re going to work together until we get their safe return.”

Biden and Trudeau did not take questions after delivering their remarks.

Trudeau welcomed the Biden administration, citing in particular Washington’s renewed attention to climate change in contrast to former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Thank you, again, for stepping up in such a big way on tackling climate change. U.S. leadership has been sorely missed over the past years,” the prime minister said.

Canada has often been a U.S. president’s first foreign stop, but the COVID-19 pandemic turned the sit-down between the two leaders and some of their top deputies into a virtual affair.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and other officials, all wearing dark masks, sat at a long table in a White House meeting room, near a large video screen beaming in Trudeau’s image from Ottawa.

A Canadian government source said there had been no progress on the possibility of Canada accessing COVID-19 vaccines produced in the United States. Canada is currently receiving doses from plants in Europe.

“We’re focused on ourselves, the United States is focused on itself. They feel they have a supply shortage, so there is no news_copy on that front,” said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.