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Museum of Modern Art
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

11:26 A.M. BRT

THE PRESIDENT:  (In progress) everyone around this table.  It’s going to take all of us — time.  It’s going to take all of us and the ability to step up to take on responsibility.

First — it seems to me there’s certain key steps.  First, we have to invest at large scale to help countries meet Sustainable Development Goals and tackle gloma- — global challenges.  We’ve made good progress boosting the firepower of multilateral development banks so they have more resources to address the challenges like pandemics and climate change.

Now we need to make sure the World Bank can continue its work in the most vulnerable countries.  I’m proud to announce the United States is pledging $4 billion over the next three years to the World Bank’s International Development Association.  As my friend Ajay tells you, the IDA is a first responder to the world’s poorest countries.  I encourage everyone around this table to increase their pledges in December.

In addition, we have to mobilize private capital at scale.  I’m proud of my country’s work in this fund, including mobilizing $60 billion through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.  That partnership will be a game changer for food security, especially in the Lobito Corridor in Africa.

Second, debt relief.  Too many nations are fo- — forced to choose between investing in the future and paying off their debt.  That’s why, earlier this year, I came together with Kenya to announce the Nairobi-Washington Vision. 

It boils down to a simple proposition.  For countries that are willing to make bold reforms and smart investments, we should do three things: mobilize more resources from the multilateral developments banks; two, unlock low-cost private-sector financing; and three, commit the following money into the- — to flowing money into these countries rather than taking it out during their need — their moments of need.  And I want to note: All creditors must play a role, in my view.  

Finally, we all have to work to end the conflicts and crises that are eroding progress in food security around the world. 

Ukraine.  The United States strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.  Everyone around this table, in my view, should as well. 

And, by the way, Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine led to the highest-record food crisis in all of history. 

On Gaza.  As I’ve said before, Israel has the right to defend itself after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, but how it defends itself — even as Hamas cruelly hides among civilians — matters a great deal. 

The United States has led the world in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and we’re going to keep pushing to accelerate a ceasefire deal that ensures Israel’s security but brings hostages home and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people and children.

I ask everyone here to increase their pressure on Hamas that is currently refusing this deal.

And on Sudan.  We’re seeing one of the world’s most humani- — serious humanitarian crisis: 8 million people on the brink of famine.  This deserves our collective outrage and our collective attention.  External actors must stop arming generals and speak with one voice to tell them, “Stop tearing your country apart.  Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people.  Stop the violence.”

Let me close with this.  As you know, this is my last G20 Summit.  We’ve made progress together, but I urge you to keep going — and I’m sure you will, regardless of my urging or not. 

This group is — within — has within its power to usher in a new era of sustainable development, to go from billions to trillions in assistance to those who — most in need.

This all may sound lofty, but this group can lay the foundation to make that achievable.

Thank you very much, and I look forward to the rest of our discussion.  (Applause.)

11:32 A.M. BRT

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NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

     Benjamin J. Cheeks, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, vice Gonzalo P. Curiel, retired.

     Serena Raquel Murillo, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, vice Cormac J. Carney, retired.

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

MR. FINER:  (In progress.)

We expect President Biden will also engage with leaders one on one, and are working to schedule several pull-asides on the margins of the G20.  If those are able to come together, we’ll obviously read out those conversations if they happen.

The President will close out the day by attending the G20 Leaders Reception.

Of course, tomorrow, in addition to G20 programming, the President will have the opportunity to meet bilaterally with President Lula of Brazil.  President Biden will congratulate President Lula on Brazil’s G20 host year and reaffirm U.S. support for President Lula’s efforts to address hunger and poverty and their shared commitment to ensure no one is left behind, among other key topics such as their partnership (inaudible).

Now, let me just take a step back and reflect for a bit on the significance of the President’s participation in the G20 this year.

Nearly four years ago, President Biden took office amid a devastating global pandemic that had upended the global economy and set back development progress around the world.

Over the past four years, we’ve experienced significant economic growth in the United States, outpacing much of the rest of the world.  And at the heart of this has been President Biden’s modern industrial strategy premised on investing at home to grow the middle class, investing in ourselves, investing in global infrastructure to help our partners do the same. 

This has meant reinvigorating multilateral groups like the G20 to deliver bold action to address big cross-border challenges like climate change that are important to both President Biden and President Lula as well as others in attendance here.  These require, obviously, working with our partners around the world.

Going into the sessions today and tomorrow, President Biden is focused on, really, three key challenges in making progress:

First, making sure developing countries have the resources to make critical investments for strong, sustainable development.  The reality is that too many countries have the will but not the resources or the know-how to invest in their futures.  Most low-income countries spend more servicing their debt than on health, education, and social programs combined. 

That’s why you’ve seen President Biden press the G20 to offer countries a pathway to growth that will call on the international financial institutions, bilateral creditors, and the private sector to step up support for vulnerable countries. 

It’s also why President Biden has championed the global effort to equip the multilateral development banks to tackle global challenges like climate change, fragility, and conflict, as well as pandemics. 

Over the past two years, we’ve fundamentally reshaped and scaled up these institutions, including by identifying forums that can boost lending capacity by up to $360 billion over the next decade. 

Over the next couple of days, President Biden will highlight his funding request to unlock $36 billion in lending at the World Bank and call on G20 leaders to follow through on their pledges to join us to boost lending capacity by $100 billion. 

This is why President Biden is highlighting the need for an ambitious replenishment of the International Development Association, the World Bank’s arm that supports the poorest countries.

President Biden will announce a historic U.S. pledge during the Rio Summit and rally other leaders to step up their commitments. 

Second, we’re capping off the administration’s work to better prepare, prevent, and respond to pandemics — a core focus of President Biden’s since day one for obvious reasons, given what we inherited.

Two years ago, the President led the G20 to launch the Pandemic Fund, a landmark achievement and strong demonstration of how global leadership makes us safer.

In Rio, President Biden will rally support for the second replenishment of this Pandemic Fund to reach its $2 billion resource mobilization goal.  And we’ll be leading the way with a $667 million pledge. 

Third, we’re furthering the global clean energy transition, a critical complement to the President’s domestic climate agenda and a priority you’ve heard him talk about in Lima, in the Amazon, throughout the trip and throughout his presidency.  This starts with pressing G20 countries to make commitments to reduce emissions in line with a 1.5-degree target (inaudible) Paris Agreement.

Tomorrow, when President Biden sees President Lula, he will launch a bilateral Clean Energy Transition Partnership with Brazil, which is designed to position Brazil to reap economic benefits of the energy transition, including scaling and diversifying the supply chain. 

So, it’s a big, broad agenda, as is always the case at these G20 meetings.  That’s basically the plan for next couple days.

I’m happy to take questions.

Q   Thanks.  Can you go back to this position that (inaudible)?  (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Sure.  So, on the communiqué, I think just taking a step back, it’s important to understand the context of what a G20 meeting is.  Unlike the G7, which is a gathering, essentially, of likeminded countries and the United States, the G20 is a grouping that includes both some of our closest partners and allies, as well as countries that fundamentally are U.S. adversaries.  And so, a communiqué that emerges from this forum is going to be different from what you get in the context of a likeminded gathering. 

I don’t want to get ahead of the negotiations that are still ongoing about the content of this particular communiqué.  Obviously, the U.S. and our partners will be pushing for the strongest possible Ukraine language, but it goes without saying Russia is a part of this grouping, and so this will all have to be negotiated and we’ll see where it lands.

Q    Can you say anything about (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  Yeah, look, I obviously have seen the reports.  I don’t have anything to confirm for you here.  But what I will say is that the United States has been clear throughout this conflict that we will make our policy decisions based on circumstances we identify on the battlefield, including, in recent days and weeks, a significant Russian escalation that involves the deployment of a foreign country’s forces on its own territory.  The United States has been clear that we will respond to that, and we’ve been clear to the Russians that we will respond to that. 

I’m not going to get into reports of what exactly — what form that response might take, precisely, for operational reasons that I think you can understand.  But this has been consistent with our approach to the entire conflict.  There are circumstances that evolve and change, and we will evolve and change (inaudible) and to allow the Ukrainians to be continue to defend their territory and their sovereignty.

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Sorry, I’m having trouble hearing you.

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  So, the United States closely coordinates with all our allies, especially our closest allies — Germany, obviously, among them — on all issues related to Ukraine and, frankly, a whole range of other global issues as well. 

When it comes to your question about negotiations, fundamentally, that’s not a question for the United States or for Germany; it’s a question for the government of Ukraine about when and if it will decide the terms of the negotiations with Russia.

Our policy and our approach has been to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position, both throughout this administration and since the invasion took place in 2022, but particularly with the surge of assistance that President Biden announced in September through the end of the year and the end of his term.  We’re executing on that.  We’ve announced recently a drawdown package with another $450 million in assistance.  There will be more announcements like that forthcoming. 

But beyond that, decisions about negotiations will be left to the Ukrainians.  It’s their country and their people.

Q    The Kremlin said this morning that the decision of the (inaudible) weapons was throwing oil on fire in this conflict.  Can you say what the decision (inaudible)?

And, separately, can you say where President Biden discussed the long-range weapons (inaudible) with incoming President Trump (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  Again, just to be super clear, I’m not confirming any decisions that have or have not been made about U.S. assistance when it comes to (inaudible). 

I will say, with regard to the comments that came out of Russia, the fire was lit by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  So, I think this notion of fuel on the fire is, frankly, a side issue to the main issue, which is Russia waging a war of aggression across a sovereign border, into Ukraine, and continuing to do so.  And we’ve seen, in addition to the North Korean forces deployment that I mentioned, a major escalation in terms of an aerial attack on infrastructure across Ukraine over the last 24 hours. 

So, I would put the question back to Russia about who’s actually putting fuel on the fire here, and I don’t think it’s the Ukrainians.

Sorry, your second question? 

Q    (Inaudible.)  Do you know if President Biden discussed (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  Well, yeah — so, look, the two presidents discussed a wide range of issues, and we’ve been pretty careful not to read that conversation out in any detail.  Certainly the conversation included all of the major issues of geopolitical significance, but I’m not going to get into the details of it.

Q    Thanks.  There are reports that a text is being (inaudible) climate finance.  Is the U.S. on board with that text?  (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  When we have an approved text, we will come out and say so.  When it comes to climate finance, I think the most significant development of the last 24 hours was the President’s declaration yesterday that the United States has met its $11 billion pledge for international climate financing.  That’s been an important target throughout this administration.  We not only got there but we exceeded it, as the President said in the Amazon yesterday.

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Yeah, so I’m not going to get in the sort of private conversations the President has with world leaders on this topic, other than to say there’s an obvious context here of a transition that is taking place in our politics and in our governance. 

The President has been, I think, very clear that his goals through the course of his entire term have been to strengthen the position of the United States in the world.  The investments that we’ve made at home are a foundational part of that.  The relationships that we’ve enhanced and improved around the world, including, obviously, in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific, and other places, are a significant part of that. 

We think we are leaving the country on a much stronger footing than we inherited it, and it will be up to a new administration to determine what to do with that vision that we believe that we are passing on.

But we have a system that’s fundamentally predicated on one president at a time.  President Biden is that president.  He will be handing off power in January, and it’ll be up to the new administration to decide what to do with it.

Q    (Inaudible) other countries that would seek to win some sort of (inaudible) incoming administration on some of the key issues that you still have, (inaudible) hostages, conflicts in the Middle East?  (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Look, I mean, countries will have to make their own decisions about how they react to, respond to, posture themselves according to our transition.  Fundamentally, I think our view is countries make decisions based on interests.  We have found an alignment of interests with a large number of countries in the world, including in particular our closest partners and allies.  I don’t think those interests change even if there is a transition from one U.S. administration to the next.  So, I don’t think we are expecting some major reorientation of how other countries look at the world or look at their relationship with us, but they will make those decisions for themselves based on their interests, in January.

Q    Just quickly back on the Scholz-Putin call, can you elaborate or explain how that fits with “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” which you guys have been sort of operating under?  And then, whether or not you got a heads up.  Are you supportive of a leader call taking place?  And is it still President Biden’s view that nobody on the leader level should engage with Putin at this point?

MR. FINER:  Look, fundamentally, this is a question for the German government, not the U.S. government.  Germany is a sovereign country and can do what it wants in terms of its international relations. 

What I will say is we’ve never said that “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” means that nobody should be talking to Russia.  We’ve had conversations with Russia in this administration.  Other countries have had conversations with Russia even since the invasion and (inaudible) more significant phase of the war broke out.

We’re not going to read out the substance of the conversation that Chancellor Scholz had with President Putin, but, you know, there’s nothing that is fundamentally at odds with “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” just because you happen to be speaking with Russia.  There are good reasons for countries to engage Russia, even as we work collectively to try to improve Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and strengthen their hand.

Q    So it didn’t do anything — any damage to your collective alliance (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  Again, I think these are better questions for the Germans to answer.  But the reality is, I’m quite confident that there was nothing that took place that undermined Ukraine’s interest in these conversations, and we are closely aligned with working with the Germans and our other allies on this.  And I think all of us continue to stand foursquare behind the decision that nothing should be done to undermine Ukraine’s position.  Ukraine will make its own decisions about any potential negotiations or its own dialogue with Russia when it chooses to do so. 

Q    Thanks, Jon.  There’s (inaudible) from President Zelenskyy, as well as others in the international community, for President Biden to make (inaudible) making moves on Ukraine (inaudible), including an invitation to join NATO, for instance.  What additional steps is the President considering on Ukraine in his final days in office?  And will the administration request more money for Ukraine from Congress (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  So, for obvious reasons, we don’t tend to (inaudible) publicly about things that we are considering doing.  When we have a step that we’re ready to announce because we’ve decided on it, we come out and say so. 

So, I won’t go into options on the table or that sort of thing, other than say that we’ve been very clear that the goal — the overriding strategic role for the rest of this term on Ukraine is to make Ukraine as strong as possible.  And that means surging as much materiel and equipment as we can get into Ukraine over the course of the near term.  The President said that quite clearly in September, and we’ve reiterated it since.  It means using all of the funds that have been appropriated for the United States to provide Ukraine during the rest of this term and this administration.  We are on track to execute that.  When we have additional policy changes or policy steps to announce, we’ll come out and say so.  What we’re not going to do is talk about what’s on the whiteboard.

Q    On the money, though, could you weigh in on whether you’ll ask for more spending for Ukraine considering that the administration is pushing for additional (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  Look, I guess what I would say to Ukraine is obviously going to need additional support.  No doubt about that.   What vehicle, what timing, I will not get into from the podium here, but Ukraine is going to need additional support going forward if it’s going to stay in the fight.  I think that’s (inaudible).

Q    How much of that (inaudible)?  (Inaudible) verbal commitments to Ukraine as well as (inaudible).  What is the message to allies (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  Look, I guess what I would say is wholly consistent with our approach throughout this conflict when the President first talked about a surge that would get as much into Ukraine by the end of this year, by the end of this term, back in September before we knew the outcome of the election.

So this is a strategic goal; it is not political.  It’s about leaving Ukraine in the strongest possible position given the challenges it faces and the escalation that it’s facing now from Russia.

Q    President Trump (inaudible). 

MR. FINER:  So, I guess I think it’s not unusual for an incoming administration or incoming president to engage with people who will be his counterparts.  Beyond that, I don’t have much to say about it.

Q    I realize you’re not going to comment on the reports, but would the President (inaudible) accept it if France or the UK decided loosen their restrictions?

MR. FINER:  So, look, that will obviously be a meeting, a policy judgment from here that I’m not prepared to provide.  So I don’t think I have anything additional to say beyond what I’ve already said, which is that there has been significant escalation on the Russian side, and I think that should be the focus.

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Sorry, I just can’t hear you.

Q    (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  I don’t think that’s on.

Q    Can you hear me now?

MR. FINER:  Yeah, a little better.

Q    (Inaudible) German government (inaudible) long-range missiles (inaudible).

MR. FINER:  So that was the same question that just got asked.  That’s a significant policy question.  I understand why you’re interested in it, but I’m not — don’t have anything to announce on that here.

Q    Thank you.  Can you talk a little bit more about (inaudible)?  (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Debt?  Is that what you said?

Q    Debt.  (Inaudible.)

MR. FINER:  Yeah.  So, look, this administration has taken a lot of action when it comes to these onerous, burdensome debts that countries face that, as I said, can amount to more than these countries are spending on (inaudible) or social issues and services by their population. 

President Biden and President Ruto, during the Kenya state visit, announced a sort of vision that these two countries would pursue together.  We are working hard to execute on that vision.  We’re going to be making the case, and President Biden will be making case during his G20 interventions, for other countries to embrace this approach.  He’s going to be talking about it bilaterally with President Lula as well.

But this is kind of a key area where I think the United States and other countries that are part of G20 are aligned.  There are some countries that unfortunately are trying to take advantage of this situation, and the United States has made the case that that’s not appropriate, that that’s holding key developing countries back from flourishing when they should.

Maybe one more, and then I think I got to go.

Q    Can you explain how restricting American weapons in the past has (inaudible)?

MR. FINER:  That’s a question that’s phrased in a particular way that I would not (inaudible) the premise of.

What I will say, though, is: I believe the United States has been extraordinarily successful in providing Ukraine what they needed in the moment that they needed it to enable them to defend their territory, their sovereignty, and their country.  And that started at the very beginning of the war when the United States provided key inputs like air defense and anti-tank, anti-armor assistance so that Ukraine could thwart what was a full-on Russian assault intended to swallow as much as Ukraine as possible.  And the Ukrainians were able to beat that back.

When the war evolved to a more static front line in the east of the country and became much more of an artillery engagement, the United States surged the provision of artillery rounds and longer-range rounds, GMLRS, and other rounds to Ukraine so that they could hold off Russia on that fight as well. 

We’ve done this at every phase of the conflict, including the provision of ATACMS for the Ukrainians to use inside their own borders, which obviously took place earlier this year. 

So we believe that we have enabled the Ukrainians to fight effectively against an army that, frankly, is much larger — at least before the war, was much better equipped — and the Ukrainians held Russia at bay despite predictions — you know, if you go back a couple years, about the trajectory of this conflict, it would have had people believing that most of Ukraine, not all of Ukraine, would have fallen a long time ago. 

Thankfully due to the bravery, first and foremost, of the Ukrainian army, with our help, with our allies’ help, that has not been the case.  And so, what we’re talking about is a frontline that moves a kilometer or two here and there in the far east of the country, which is much better situated than I think anyone predicted early in this conflict. 

That does not mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that we do not need to continue to provide support for Ukraine.  They’re in a very difficult, extremely difficult situation with Russia, in egregious ways, continuing to escalate this conflict.  I just mentioned two of them: the deployment of a foreign country’s troops on their own territory to fight against Ukraine and these horrific attacks that took place on Ukrainian critical infrastructure over the last 24 hours. 

Unfortunately, that is part and parcel of what we have seen throughout this time, which is Russia’s willingness to continue to up the ante.  And we have and will continue to up the ante when necessary (inaudible) for the Ukrainian (inaudible) succeed (inaudible) will prevail. 

Thank you, guys.

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President Biden met today with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.  President Biden expressed his congratulations on her recent election and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to building a prosperous North America with good paying jobs.  The two leaders underscored the importance of maintaining cooperation on migration, security and tackling the scourge of transnational criminal violence, and economic issues, building on the strong bilateral partnership between the United States and Mexico.

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President Biden met today with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.  President Biden thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada’s strong partnership as weaddress the main challenges of our time, including creating jobs and opportunities for the middle class, combating climate change, managing migration, strengthening our alliances including NATO, and addressing humanitarian needs in Haiti and globally.  President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to the shared goal of continental and Arctic defense, and underscored the importance of Canadian defense investment and the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty.  The two leaders agreed that strengthening democracy and rule of law were essential to the prosperity and success of North America.   

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Dear Mr. Speaker:

With the Congress now back in session, I write to request urgently needed emergency funding to provide for an expeditious and meaningful Federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.  In the weeks since these deadly storms tore through communities across the Southeast, members of my Administration and I have traveled to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to meet with families, business owners, farmers, local and State officials, and first responders to stand with these communities in the wake of these disasters and to hear firsthand what they need from the Federal Government in order to make a full recovery.  Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities.

Over the past month, members of my Administration have written to you and other congressional leaders to underscore the urgent need for additional funding to replenish key disaster response programs. Most urgently, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program has completely exhausted its funding and the Congress must act as soon as possible to restore this funding.  As I outlined in my October 4th letter, my Administration has repeatedly underscored the need for the Congress to prevent a shortfall.  SBA loans are a pivotal lifeline for local businesses as well as individual survivors who use these loans to repair and rebuild their homes and replace or repair damaged property, including their personal vehicles.  SBA has already received over 100,000 loan applications for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and the American people cannot afford any further delay in the restoration of this vital funding.

Urgent funding is also needed for the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) uses to help individuals and communities across the Nation recover from disasters.  Without additional funding, the DRF will face a shortfall this fiscal year, which will impact FEMA’s ability to provide life-saving and life-sustaining assistance to disaster survivors, as well as slow recovery from ongoing and prior disasters.  Funding for the Department of Agriculture is necessary to provide assistance to farmers, ranchers, and rural communities across the Nation affected by natural disasters.  Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program is critical to help communities respond to the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the devastating fires in Maui and tornados in Mississippi, Iowa, and Oklahoma.  My Administration is also requesting funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect critical access to safe drinking water, for the Department of Energy to rapidly restore power and rebuild the electric grid to better withstand future storms, and for the Department of Transportation to support rebuilding roads and bridges across 40 States and Territories, including Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.  Additional funding for the EPA is also needed to protect drinking water infrastructure, fund water system upgrades that would improve system performance, mitigate further future damage from extreme weather, and improve systems for low- and moderate-income households.

Additional action must also be taken to address the severe shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids and other critical medical products caused by Hurricane Helene.  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took critical steps this month to support access to these products, including ensuring restoration of key production sites, protecting products, and opening imports in partnership with manufacturers, distributors, hospitals, and other stakeholders.  My Administration is requesting funding for HHS to build supply chain capacity and resilience for IV fluids and other critical medical products to respond to current needs and to better prepare for disasters in the future.  In addition, Hurricanes Helene and Milton are expected to exhaust available funding balances for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), forcing the program to add to its debt to the Department of the Treasury. My Administration urges the Congress to cancel some or all of the NFIP’s debt to ensure NFIP policyholders and disaster survivors have a sustainable flood insurance program that provides the assistance they need after disaster strikes.

The Congress must also extend the deadlines for Hermit’s Peak fire claimants to request FEMA assistance, in order to ensure all applicants can receive compensation for losses in the aftermath of the fires in New Mexico.

The Congress has previously responded on a bipartisan basis to support communities in the wake of natural disasters — including providing over $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, over $50 billion following Hurricane Sandy in 2013, and over $120 billion following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017.  Just as the Congress acted then, it is our sworn duty now to deliver the necessary resources to ensure that everyone in communities reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton — and those still recovering from previous disasters — have the Federal resources they need and deserve.

From rebuilding homes and reopening critical infrastructure, such as schools and roads — to supporting the Nation’s farmers and ranchers and ensuring access to healthcare services — impacted communities await your response.  There can be no delay.  I urge the Congress to act quickly to pass a supplemental funding package to assist communities impacted by these hurricanes — and every other disaster since the Congress last passed a comprehensive disaster package in 2022 — so that the people, families, businesses, and communities affected have the support they need to respond, recover, and rebuild responsibly.

Since the need for this funding arises from unforeseen and unanticipated events, my Administration continues to request that the amounts in this supplemental request be designated as emergency requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

My Administration will be with those affected until the job is done. This request of supplemental funds is focused on the accounts that are most critical to aiding disaster survivors and impacted communities. My Administration will continue to assess the full resource requirements associated with long-term rebuilding and resilience efforts resulting from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including those costs related to impacts to Federal facilities and infrastructure, and we will share those estimates as they become available. I urge the Congress to take immediate action, and I look forward to your partnership in delivering this critical relief to the American people.

                               Sincerely,

                               JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Museu da Amazônia
Manaus, Brazil

3:39 P.M. AMT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thanks for all being here.

Back in the late ‘80s, Chico Mendes, a Brazilian rubber tapper who turned environmental activist, said the following, I quote, “At first, I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees.  Then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest.  Now I realize I was fighting for humanity.” 

At the time, I was a United States senator, working with a great Republican senator named Dick Lugar, from Indiana, to enact a new law: The United States would relieve other countries of debts owed to us if they commit to protecting their own forest.

These debt-for-nature swaps have since protected nearly 70 million acres of forests worldwide.

And today I’m proud to be here, the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest, to recommit to protecting the rainforests, like this one.

The most powerful solutions we have to fight climate change is all around us: the world’s forests.

Trees breathe carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.  And yet, each minute, the world is chopping down the equivalent of 10 soccer fields worth of forests — each minute. 

That’s why we’ve been a leader internationally in the fight to end and reverse deforestation by twenty-twe- — by 2030.

That’s why we’ve led by example at home, conserving an area of the U.S. lands and waters larger — larger than the state of — the nation of Uruguay.

We’ve done it by fighting for Tribal partners — lifting them up; Indigenous communities; and most impacted by deforestation and climate change.

Today’s announcement will support Indigenous communities to do some — the same here in the Amazon.

We all know there’s much more we can do and must do at home and abroad.

That’s why today I issued an official proclamation to support the conservation of nature around the world, because the fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity for generations to come.  It may be the only existential threat to all our nations and to all humanity that exists.

With today’s proclamation, I am proud to announce, first, the United States Development Finance Corporation will mobilize hundreds of millions of dollars in partnership with a Brazilian company to reforest the Amazon.

Second, we’re launching a Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition to mobilize at least $10 billion by 2030 to restore and protect 20,000 square miles of land. 

And, third, I’m announcing an additional $50 million to the Amazon Fund that’s already — we’ve giv- — already given $50 million.

Fourth, we’ll provide the funding to help launch President Lula’s important new initiative, the Tropical Forest Forever Fund.  It’s in the interest of all of us.  The United States benefits from that as much as any other country does, including here in Brazil.

I’m also so proud to support bipartisan legislation to launch a new foundation for international conservation that would leverage public funds to mobilize billions more in private capital.

The fight against climate change has been a defining cause of my presidency.

My administration first rejoined the Paris Agreement on climate change.  We’ve launched 150-nation-strong Global Methane Pledge.  We’ve delivered a record climate financing to developing countries.  And we’ve pledged that we would deliver $11 billion per year by 2024.  I’m pleased to announce today that we not only kept that promise, we’ve surpassed it.

Back home, I signed the most significant climate change law in history, a law that positioned us to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030, that’s generated $450 billion in new clean energy investments, and that’s created hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs and a manufacturing boom as well.

Folks, we don’t have to choose between the environment and the economy.  You can do both.  We’ve proven it back home.

It’s no secret that I’m leaving office in January.  I will have my su- — I will leave my successor and my country in a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so.

It’s true some may seek to la- — deny or delay the clean energy revolution that’s underway in America, but nobody — nobody can reverse it — nobody.  Not when so many people, regardless of party or politics, are enjoying its benefits.  Not when countries around the world are harnessing the clean energy revolution to pull ahead themselves.

The question now is: Which government will stand in the way, and which will seize the enormous economic opportunity? 

Let me close with this.  It’s often said that the Amazon is the lungs of the world — the Amazon is the lungs of the world.  But in my view, our forests and national wonders are the heart and soul of the world. 

They unite us.  They inspire us.  They make us proud of our countries and heritage — a bridge to the past and to our future, a birthright we pass down from generation to generation. 

Zama- — the Amazon rainforest was built up over 50 million years — 50 million years.  History is literally watching us now. 

So, let’s preserve this sacred place, for our time and forever, for the benefit of all humanity.

Thank you very, very much.  (Applause.)

3:46 P.M. AMT

The post Remarks by President Biden in Statement to Press | Manaus, Brazil appeared first on The White House.

     Today, I am proud to become the first sitting American President to visit the Amazon and to proclaim the first International Conservation Day, reflecting all that is at stake in the fight against climate change and honoring the power and promise of conservation work.  On International Conservation Day, we recommit to working with partners across our Nation and around the world to safeguard our natural treasures.
     When we work together to defend our lands and waters, everyone benefits.  That is because conservation is about more than protecting our world’s beautiful natural wonders — it is about protecting the livelihoods of the people who depend on them; preserving our diverse habitats and the wildlife that lives within them; increasing resiliency throughout our lands, seascapes, and riverscapes; and ensuring our lands and waters can be enjoyed by all.   
     That is why my Administration has delivered on the most ambitious land and water conservation agenda in American history — leading by the power of our example.  When I first came into office, I issued an Executive Order that established the United States’ first-ever conservation goal — aiming to protect at least 30 percent of our Nation’s lands and waters by 2030.  My America the Beautiful initiative has advanced that work by supporting voluntary, locally led conservation and restoration.  These efforts have not only helped local communities, Tribes, farmers, ranchers, foresters, and fishers to address the climate crisis and protect lands and waters.  They have also created jobs, strengthened the economy, and expanded access to the outdoors across our country.  I also signed an Executive Order to safeguard and steward our Nation’s forests and make our ecosystems more resilient in the fight against climate change.  And we launched the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge to protect, restore, and reconnect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of our Nation’s rivers and streams to safeguard clean water for all.  
     I am also proud that my Administration made the largest investment in history to confront the climate crisis through my Inflation Reduction Act and has conserved more than 45 million acres of our Nation’s lands and waters.  We have established, expanded, and restored 11 national monuments and protected the United States Arctic Ocean from new oil and gas leasing.  And together with my Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we have invested in restoration and conservation, including $50 billion to strengthen community and ecosystem resilience to climate change.  Further, I launched the American Climate Corps to mobilize a new, diverse generation of Americans in conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, and advancing environmental justice — all while creating good jobs.  
     Around the world, my Administration has made extraordinary progress in advancing conservation.  We moved to rejoin the Paris Agreement on day one of my Administration, and we put our country in a position to cut emissions in half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.  In 2021, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow, we released the Plan to Conserve Global Forests — a first-of-its-kind national strategy to preserve global ecosystems that serve as vital carbon sinks.  We also joined other nations in pledging to end deforestation by 2030, backed by the biggest ever commitment of public funds for forest conservation and a plan to make 75 percent of forest commodity supply chains sustainable.  In 2022, we helped rally countries around the world to commit to conserve at least 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030, mirroring the goal we had set at home.  We also joined other countries at the United Nations to sign the High Seas Treaty, committing to working together to establish marine protected areas on the high seas — a critical step to conserve ocean biodiversity and reach the global community’s goal to conserve or protect at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030. 
     My Administration has also delivered record climate financing to support developing countries’ efforts to preserve and protect these vital ecosystems that serve as critical carbon sinks, accelerate the clean energy transition, and bolster their resilience to climate change.  In 2021, I pledged that our Nation would deliver $11 billion per year in climate financing by 2024.  I am proud that we not only kept that promise, but surpassed it.  This includes fulfilling my pledge to invest over $3 billion per year to help vulnerable countries around the world mitigate and adapt to climate change as part of my Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience.  I am also proud that — with our recent $50 million investment — my Administration has provided over $100 million to the Amazon Fund.  At the same time, our Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has helped mobilize over $1 billion in investment to support the restoration of degraded lands in Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile, helping create a market that values keeping this vital ecosystem alive and thriving.  
     There is still so much to do to ensure that we protect our world’s most precious ecosystems and natural treasures.  That is why the DFC is investing in one of the largest reforestation projects in the world, beginning with the Brazilian Amazon.  I am proud that my Administration is working with over a dozen international partners to launch the Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition to mobilize at least $10 billion for land restoration and bioeconomy-related projects by 2030.  And I am proud to support President Lula of Brazil’s bold vision of creating the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a path-breaking new initiative that would incentivize countries to protect their tropical forests while supporting the local and Indigenous communities stewarding these forests and ensuring these vital ecosystems continue to thrive.  
     It has been said that the Amazon rainforest is the lungs of the world.  Forests like these, that stretch across the Americas, Africa, and Asia — including the Amazon, Tongass, Congo, and Sundaland — represent our heart and soul.  Now more than ever, we must recommit to the urgent work of addressing climate change — together, we can ensure that these treasures will be enjoyed for generations to come.  
     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 17, 2024, as International Conservation Day.  
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                        JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Lima, Peru

MR. SULLIVAN:  (In progress) — which will go into some detail on various issues that they covered.

And so, I’m going to be brief in my opening comments, because you all can read that scintillating Word document. 

You know, this was an opportunity for them to take stock of their relationship after four years of President Biden stewarding it along with President Xi Jinping.  And President Biden reflected on the fact that he has worked hard to responsibly manage the competition so that it doesn’t veer into conflict and so that he maintains space also for the U.S. and China to work together on matters of mutual interest.

He reflected on the fact that keeping open lines of communication is vital to the responsible management of this relationship, and that includes the leader-to-leader communication that has really anchored the relationship over the last four years, but also communication at all levels. 

And he really emphasized the importance of sustaining military-to-military communication through this transition period and beyond, because that is how we will most effectively avert any potential mistake and miscalculation of crisis.

He spoke about areas where we actually have made progress, where our interests align, from counternarcotics to climate, AI.  The two leaders took an important step forward today with respect to AI safety and risk.  They agreed, and it will be reflected in the readout, on the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons, which is the first time the U.S. and the PRC has made this statement.  It’s an important statement about the intersection of artificial intelligence and nuclear doctrine, and it is a reflection of how, even with competition between the U.S. and the PRC, we can work on a responsible basis to manage risk in vital areas.

The two leaders, of course, also spoke about areas of difference and areas of friction in the relationship, including U.S. concerns over the PRC’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base.  And in this context, President Biden reiterated his grave concern over the fact that the DPRK has deployed a significant number of troops to western Russia to participate in the battle against Ukraine, in the war against Ukraine. 

President Biden also spoke to President Xi about cross-Strait issues and the U.S.’s commitment to sustain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.  They had the chance to go back and forth on that. 

They talked about economics and national security.  They talked about the respective concerns of both sides about the policies of the other.  But President Biden really reiterated his concern about unfair non-market economic practices that are harming American workers and businesses. 

They also covered the South China Sea, and President Biden reiterated his view that international law must be respected, along with freedom of navigation and lawful, unimpeded commerce in the South China Sea.

They touched on a number of other issues as well.  I would just sum up the meeting by saying that it was — like all of these meetings are, it was candid, it was constructive, it was wide ranging.  There was a give and take, a back and forth. 

The two leaders set aside the notes, particularly in the closing section of the meeting, for them to each be able to reflect upon the fact that they’ve known each other for quite a long time now, that they have worked together closely, that they obviously haven’t always seen eye to eye but they’ve always been straight with one another, and that they both remain committed to try to responsibly manage this relationship during this last critical transition period and, of course, over the course of the past more than 10 years that the two leaders have been dealing with each other, both as vice president and now as president. 

So, with that, I’d be happy to take your questions.

Q    Can you talk about how the President addressed North Korea’s support for Russia and the invasion of Ukraine when it came to this meeting? 

Secondly, also, China has expressed opposition to turning the Kenyan-led mission in Haiti to a U.N. peacekeeping mission.  Does the U.S. have more confidence now that they could have China’s support for a U.N.-led peacekeeping mission?

MR. SULLIVAN:  President Biden pointed out that the PRC’s publicly stated position with respect to the war in Ukraine is there should be no escalation or no broadening of the conflict, and the introduction of DPRK troops runs fourscore against that. 

And he also pointed out that the PRC does have influence and capacity and should use it to try to prevent a further escalation or further expansion of the conflict through the introduction of even more DPRK forces. 

You know, one of the points the President really registered was: Countries around the world look to the United States when the U.S. has influence, whether it’s in Asia or Europe.  And similarly, countries look to the PRC as well.  So, it’s not a sufficient answer to simply say, “Well, that’s up to these other countries.  There’s nothing we can really do about it.” 

So that is the nature of the back and forth on that.  And President Biden really underscored his view that this is a deeply dangerous development, both in the European view, the introduction of a foreign army, and on the Korean Peninsula, with deepening cooperation between Russia and the DPRK likely to enhance the possibility of provocative behavior by the DPRK, provocative behavior that we have warned about, whether it comes in the form of direct provocations against the ROK, or whether it comes in the form of something like further missile tests or even a seventh nuclear test, which is something that we remain constantly vigilant about. 

The President did touch upon Haiti in his remarks.  The PRC did not indicate a change of position on that topic in today’s meeting.  We remain convinced that for stability in Haiti, which matters to a lot of innocent people, that the U.N. needs to step up with a peacekeeping mission, the transition of this multinational security support force into a peacekeeping mission.  We’re going to keep working until we secure consensus of the Security Council (inaudible). 

Q    There was a reference that Chinese leader Xi Jinping made (inaudible) small yard, high fences, alluding to the export controls.  Can you talk a little bit more about his concerns about export controls and the degree to which that came up?

MR. SULLIVAN:  President Xi himself in his opening remarks, and the PRC at all levels, has not been shy, both publicly and privately, about raising their objections for U.S. export controls, particularly when it comes to advanced semiconductors and advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment.  Equally, we have not been shy about saying that for very high semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment with national security applications, we are going to restrict that so that it is not used against us or our allies.  And we’ve made no bones about that, and President Biden made no bones about it again today.

We have equally said that this is not a broad-based decoupling of our economic or technology trade with China.  It is high-end, high-level capabilities, a very small fraction of the overall trade that we have with China, and it is squarely focused on the national security concerns we have about these particular forms of both semiconductors and manufacturing equipment. 

So, there was nothing surprising about President Xi raising his concerns about that.  Equally, there was nothing surprising about President Biden reinforcing the rationale for why we have pursued a small yard, high fence policy, a policy we believe that has protected America’s national security and enhanced our innovation edge, and we will continue to support that until the end of this term, and we will continue to advocate to the next team that they carry forward with this policy.

Q    Can you talk a little bit more about the AI nuclear agreement and how imminent of a threat does this impose?  And, kind of, can you put a little more meat on the bone on what that agreement is going to look like?

MR. SULLIVAN:  The way that I would put this is you need to start somewhere, basic principles, and build from there when it comes to trying to develop a common basis for reducing nuclear risk.  And a good place to start is with the straightforward proposition that there should be human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.

But the fact that the U.S. and the PRC have done this — and, you know, it will be stated as an agreement in our readout today — indicates that we are now building a foundation for being able to work on nuclear risk reduction together, the U.S. and the PRC, and work on AI safety and risk together, which is something that President Biden and President Xi agreed to do out of the Woodside Summit last year. 

I’m not saying someone was imminently going to hand over the control of nuclear weapons to artificial intelligence, so I’m not — I think your question was about whether there’s an imminent risk.  I don’t believe there is an imminent risk of that.  But there is a long-term strategic risk of two significant nuclear powers and two countries with significant AI capability not being able to reach a meeting of the minds on basically anything in those spaces, and that is a risk we are trying to address.  Today is a step in that direction. 

Q    Jake, so just hours before their meeting, President Xi presented himself as a defender of multilateralism and (inaudible).  Obviously, China is a member RCEP.  The U.S. (inaudible) about TPP — we’re not joining TPP, and (inaudible) leaders are concerned about a future U.S. administration that’s more protectionist and isolationist, particularly the fact that President-elect Trump has threatened more power, not just from China but also the rest of the world.  Can you share your response?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Look, I’m not going to comment on a future administration’s policies that have neither been formulated nor articulated.  So, I’m not going to speculate about that. 

What I will say is that we have laid out in clear terms our concerns about non-market economic practices that the PRC has undertaken that don’t just harm American workers, but actually undermine an open Internet and fair and level playing field in the international economic order.  And it’s not just the United States that has raised those concerns.  Countries on multiple continents have begun to take countermeasures against what they perceive to be PRC overcapacity in critical sectors. 

So, we believe that we have been able to build the case effectively over time that some of the approaches that China has taken in this area are harmful to the cause of a level playing field, not helpful to the cause of a level playing field.  And we’ve tried to protect ourselves through targeted tariffs, and we’ve worked with other countries who have taken similar measures, similar steps, and not just traditional allies of the United States, but multiple countries around the world. 

So, I think the world will be able to judge for itself both the PRC’s approach to trade and the U.S.’s approach to trade over time.  What I can say is that we have been clear about both the steps we have taken and also clear about our concerns about PRC overcapacity and what it could do to distort the global economy in ways that are unhealthy.  And that was part of the conversation that the two leaders had today. 

Q    Jake, obviously both of the leaders (inaudible) public statements made reference to this moment of transition for the United States.  I’m wondering if you can characterize how much you have said privately to leaders about this.  Is there a moment, for instance, for the President to warn the Chinese about not seeking to take advantage of this moment of transition?

And I’m also wondering when President Biden met with President-elect Trump, was there an opportunity for him to convey a message (inaudible) to President Xi privately?  Did President Xi ask President Biden to convey a message to President Trump?

MR. SULLIVAN:  To your last question, the answer is no.  President Biden was not a conduit for messages going in either direction.  President Biden noted the obvious facts that there will be a new administration on January 20th, and he did reinforce the point that these next two months are a time of transition in the United States and a time where stability in the U.S.-China relationship is essential.  And he reinforced that with respect to the geopolitical backdrop — cross-Strait relations, South China Sea, et cetera — and with respect to the economic backdrop.  So that was a feature of the conversation in terms of what President Biden laid out.

I’m not going to characterize what President Xi had to say.  I’ll leave that to the Chinese side to do.  But what I would say from President Biden’s perspective: He wasn’t projecting ahead to what was going to happen after January 20th.  He was really focused on the fact that there is a transition unfolding, that President Biden is determined for that transition to be smooth and for him to pass the relationship off, and he would like to pass it off on stable terms to the new administration, and reinforce the point that the two leaders have an obligation to direct their (inaudible) to make that happen.

Q    Jake, I’m wondering if you can — if there was any discussion about the wrongfully detained Americans in China.  I know (inaudible) progress on that front.

MR. SULLIVAN:  So, we’ve made important progress on that with the release of David Lin.  They discussed the issue today.  I will not go further than that. 

I don’t have any announcements to make, but they had an important discussion on the subject today, and we’ll continue working every day until our very last to try to secure the release of the unjustly detained Americans being held in China. 

Q    On the PRC’s support for Russia’s war machine, one of your colleagues told us in advance of this trip that it’s probably not going to stop and will be a task also for the new administration.  Does that mean (inaudible) sanctions that you were looking at are off the table now for the next two months?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I do not have any announcements with respect to further sanctions today.  No announcements of new sanctions and no categorical statements of taking things off the table.

Q    Kind of back to the AI nuclear (inaudible) in September or August, October, China refused to sign on to the deal that came out of Seoul that said no AI use in nuclear launches.  So if that (inaudible) right, has Beijing’s stance changed, and how did it get there?

And you used the specific phrase, “further work on nuclear risk reduction.”  Is that a reference to arms control (inaudible)?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Arms control speaks to how many weapons do you have and where they deploy.  Nuclear risk reduction is the whole family of practices around trying to avoid mistake and miscalculation.  And, by the way, I’m not projecting that there will be further steps.  What I’m suggesting is that responsible nuclear powers have an obligation to work towards further steps.  Whether the PRC chooses to do that or not will be up to them.  But this is an important step both on AI safety and on nuclear risk reduction. 

And I can’t speak to their decision-making.  You’d have to go to them on it.  What I will say is we think we’ve generated something meaningful today.  It is not the end of the line, but it’s the start of something that we hope can be carried forward.

Q    So, you obviously negotiated this ahead of time.  Has their position moved, and has the negotiation (inaudible)?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I guess the way that I would put it is: We did not have this agreement at Woodside.  We had this agreement today.  And I’ll leave it to you to fill in the gaps. 

Q    So, the President just met with Prime Minister Ishiba yesterday.  At the same time, Prime Minister Ishiba was trying to meet next President Trump after G20, but it’s not going to happen because Trump said no.  Do you feel like Prime Minister Ishiba —

MR. SULLIVAN:  Wait, I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand.  You say he’s —

Q    Prime Minister Ishiba was trying to meet President Trump — next President Trump after G20.

MR. SULLIVAN:  Oh, after.  I thought you said at the G20.  After the G20.

Q    But Trump said no.  Do you feel like Prime Minister Ishiba was (inaudible) something behind the back?  Because President Biden is the president.  What do you feel came of that?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I do not feel that the Prime Minister seeking to engage with the President-elect is doing anything behind the back of President Biden.  I don’t.  I think we have seen multiple leaders make telephone calls to the President-elect, just like in 2020 multiple leaders called President-elect Biden when he was elected.  That’s pretty typical diplomatic practice. 

So, as far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing untoward about that.  And President Biden and the Prime Minister had a very good discussion.  Yesterday was their first in-person meeting, and we feel very good about the state of the relationship, state of the alliance, and the state of the personal dynamic between the two leaders. 

Q    Jake, you mentioned that at the end of meeting that they put notes aside and had some exchange.  Can you describe a little bit more about that exchange?  Was that a farewell message between the two of them?  Or what did they talk about there?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I won’t share too much because, you know, it was between the two of them.  And it was a reflection on having spent a lot of time together over the course of a decade, in pretty high-pressure situations managing a relationship of very high consequence.

I would just say one point the President made was to reinforce something he said publicly quite a bit, which is that what has made the relationship between the two of them function effectively is that they’re able to be very straight with one another, even when they disagree.  And that level of candor, directness, even bluntness at times, has been critical in helping see us through some choppy waters at times, and has been critical in helping us build the foundation to effectively and responsibly manage the competition. 

So it was in the nature of that kind of reflection that President Biden offered.  And I make it a habit not to share what President Xi says in response to that, but they had a bit of a back and forth along those lines, you know, that was quite descriptive, I guess. 

Q    Jake, do you guys have any assurances on — you know, obviously, you have two months left.  I mean, even the agreement on AI, like, do you have any assurances or confidence that Trump is going to implement that or any other things that were discussed today?

MR. SULLIVAN:  No, obviously not.  I mean, we don’t — the incoming administration is not in the business of providing us assurances about anything, and they’ll make their own decisions as they go forward.  But this is a feature of every transition throughout all of time, which is: It’s our job to do all that we can to set the new administration up as effectively as possible, and then they will decide how they’ll take things forward. 

I think there’s a lot that we’re doing, both with respect to the U.S.-China relationship, but also with respect to our alliances, with respect to other partners here at APEC and the G20 that will be carried forward in the natural course of things.  Everything doesn’t get thrown out.  And so, can’t make predictions or speculate.  Certainly have gotten no assurances of any kind, but we’ll keep doing our work until January 20th. 

Q    Thanks, Jake.   Why did President Biden go to President Xi’s hotel for this meeting?  (Inaudible.)

MR. SULLIVAN:  Because in the quite scientific execution of U.S.-China presidential meetings, we do this thing called “my turn, your turn.”  (Laughter.)  And the last meeting the two of them had was at Woodside, in America, where Xi came not just to President Biden’s venue, but to his country.  So it was his turn; therefore, we go to his hotel.  And the time before was Bali; the President went, et cetera.  So it’s highly sophisticated statecraft — (laughter) — that I know is hard, really, to get your head around, but it’s, basically, we go back and forth in terms of who hosts.

Q    President Biden (inaudible) hotel (inaudible)?

MR. SULLIVAN:  President Xi was the host of the meeting.  So, they chose the hotel.  It was his —

Q    In Bali?

MR. SULLIVAN:  In Bali.  He was the host, yeah.  And then President Biden was the host at Woodside, and now President Xi was the host.

Q    On that note, do you think President Trump should go to the 2026 APEC Summit in Beijing?

MR. SULLIVAN:  I have no advice for the president-elect with respect to travel taking place nearly two years from now.

Q    Jake, from what we saw in the opening remarks, what was notable (inaudible) was a little bit of the tone from President Xi to make a wise choice — “make the wise choice.”  It was one of those messages that had been (inaudible).

I think a lot of us are making the analysis that he’s warning that we’re headed towards another valley in the U.S.-China relationship.  Is that a fair analysis to make?  And how do we avoid a valley when we’re talking about 60 percent tariffs?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Look, I would have to go back and look at PRC public comments, including the President’s public comments, with formulas like that.  But he — the Chinese side makes those forms of public warnings to American officials regardless of political stripe and regardless of administration.  Now, it may take on a different meaning or valence because of the moment we’re in.  And I’m not obviously blind or deaf to that.  But I’m answering the question the way I am because I can’t, obviously, put myself in the head of President Xi, what he was intending, the extent to which it was meant in the spirit that you just described.

I would just say that, broadly speaking, the message of “choose wisely, not wrongly” is a pretty standard, fair PRC statement that they’ve made repeatedly over the course of these past four years, the four years before that, and so on.  And that’s especially been true where the relationship has taken on a more competitive dynamic. 

Look, I’m not going to speculate about 60 percent tariffs, because, as I said before, the administration has neither formulated nor articulated its policy.  So I’d be getting way ahead of you, me, and anyone else by speaking to that. 

Q    Could you characterize the overall atmosphere of the meeting?  Because (inaudible), and you guys always described it (inaudible) but this is the last one.  So could you give us a little more —

MR. SULLIVAN:  I think it was similar to the last two, because this — you know, in the end, they had the chance for a more personal reflection, but they conducted a lot of business in areas both where we are making some progress and in areas where there are profound differences between the U.S. and the PRC.  And the two sides did not shy away from the more direct and difficult conversations where the two sides don’t agree. 

So I don’t think the atmosphere was markedly different from the atmosphere at either Woodside or Bali.

Yeah, last question.

Q    I’m just wondering if President Biden and President Xi have (inaudible) relationship after the past (inaudible), and how was it effective in the Biden diplomacy relationship with China?  And do you have any concerns that his personal relationship (inaudible)?

MR. SULLIVAN:  Those of you have interviewed me before and have asked me for anecdotes always find I come up wanting.  (Laughter.)  So, I’m terrible at examples and illustrations and stories.

What I will say is that leader-level engagement and direction is vital to the responsible management of the competition between the U.S. and China.  The tone gets set from the top.  The teams get their direction from the top.  And the execution of the day-to-day management of the relationship is derived from understandings reached between the leaders. 

And the fact that President Biden and President Xi have been able to establish a relationship of candor and directness on issues where they find a common way forward and on issues where they share deep disagreements, I think has been critical to us coming through a number of very difficult points in time in the relationship and, you know, achieving a measure of sustained, responsible management. 

Now, that doesn’t mean this is going to — this has been easy or everything is great.  We have difficulties.  We have challenges.  It is a highly competitive relationship.  It is a complex relationship.  But I think the personal dynamic has helped us manage it very effectively.  And I certainly feel that acutely as someone who’s trying to carry out President Biden’s direction working with my counterpart and with others on the Chinese side. 

So, now we got to keep going for the next two months, and then we’ll see what happens after that. 

Thank you, guys.

Q    (Inaudible) the two leaders?  (Inaudible.)

MR. SULLIVAN:  I think it was (inaudible).  (Laughter.)  No.  I don’t.  I don’t.  They had a moment together at the end, of the two shaking hands on the way out.  I (inaudible).

Q    Jake, do you have any other detail on the most recent Chinese hack and how that came up?

MR. SULLIVAN:  And more detail on it?

Q    Yeah.  Like what the conversation was.

MR. SULLIVAN:  So, the issue of the hack of American telecommunications providers did come up.  I’m not going to speak publicly about what was said privately.  And the President made very clear where the U.S. stands on it. 

And as we develop further information, we will absolutely be sharing it with you guys, as we just did most recently with the CISA-FBI statement, and you can expect more of those in the weeks ahead.

Thanks, everybody.

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President Biden Announces U.S. has surpassed his goal of providing $11 billion per year in international climate financing

President Biden to sign a proclamation designating International Conservation Day; becomes first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon

Since Day One of the Biden-Harris Administration, the fight against climate change has been a defining cause of President Biden’s leadership and presidency. These past four years, the Administration has created a bold new playbook that has turned tackling the climate crisis into an enormous economic opportunity – both at home and abroad. After spearheading the most significant domestic climate and conservation action in history and leading global efforts to tackle the climate crisis, today President Biden is traveling to Manaus, Brazil, where he will meet with Indigenous and other leaders and become the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest.

The President has leveraged our Nation’s leadership on domestic climate and conservation action to help accelerate global efforts to combat and reverse deforestation and deploy nature-based solutions that reduce emissions, enhance biodiversity, and build resilience to a changing climate. As part of advancing this ambitious climate and conservation agenda, the Administration is investing in Amazon conservation efforts, sustainable land management, and wildfire prevention, while also strengthening our Nation’s collaboration with Brazil, support for Indigenous communities, and efforts to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazon and around the world.

Today, as part of his historic trip to the Amazon, President Biden will announce that the United States has fulfilled his historic pledge to increase U.S. international climate finance to over $11 billion a year by 2024 – making the United States the largest bilateral provider of climate finance in the world.  This represents a more than six-fold increase from the $1.5 billion in climate finance the U.S. provided in FY21, underscoring the success of President Biden’s whole-of-government effort to scaling-up U.S. climate finance over the last four years.  This also includes achieving for the second year in a row his pledge to scale-up U.S. adaptation finance six-fold to over $3 billion per year to help vulnerable countries around the world build resilience to the impacts of climate change, as part of implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE).  This also included achieving record-levels of climate investments through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and U.S. Export Import Bank (EXIM) – with DFC reaching $3.71 billion in FY24 and EXIM increasing its investments to a record $1.6 billion in FY24.

President Biden will also sign a U.S. proclamation designating November 17th as International Conservation Day. The proclamation recognizes that conservation is critical to protecting the livelihoods of the people who depend on our world’s natural wonders, conserving our ecosystems and wildlife, ensuring our lands and waters can be enjoyed for generations to come, and helping avoid the worst impacts of climate change.  

Central to today’s trip is President Biden’s commitment to conserving our forests and combatting global deforestation. Over the past four years, the Administration has led efforts to conserve more than 45 million acres of lands and waters; safeguard mature and old-growth forests on Federal lands here at home; strengthen reforestation partnerships across the country to support local economies; combat global deforestation; and deploy nature-based solutions that reduce emissions, enhance biodiversity, and build resilience in the face of increasing climate threats.  Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new efforts to accelerate global action to conserve lands and waters, protect biodiversity, and tackle the climate crisis, including:

• Announcing $50 Million for the Amazon Fund. The United States is announcing $50 million for the Amazon Fund, which will bring U.S. total contributions to the Amazon Fund to $100 million, subject to Congressional notification.

• Launching the Brazil Restoration & Bioeconomy Finance Coalition. The United States, BTG Pactual, and over 12 partners are announcing the launch of the Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition.  This Coalition intends to mobilize at least $10 billion in public and private investment for land restoration and bioeconomy-related projects by 2030, supporting the conservation and restoration of at least 5.5 million hectares during this period, and contributing to 1.5 gigatons of emissions reductions and removals through 2050. At least $500 million is expected to be invested in projects that support Indigenous peoples and local communities in the Brazilian Amazon.

• Announcing a New DFC Investment in the Largest Reforestation Projects in the Amazon. DFC is providing a $37.5 million loan to Mombak Gestora de Recursos Ltda., to support the large-scale planting of native tree species on degraded grasslands in Brazil, which will sequester carbon and enable biodiversity conservation. Mombak has designed an innovative and large-scale approach to generating high-quality “Verified Emission Reduction (VER)” credits by acquiring large tracts of degraded grassland in the Brazilian state of Pará and surrounding regions, which it will plant with native tree species. This activity is expected to sequester approximately 5 million metric tons of CO2 over 50 years while preserving biodiversity in the Amazon region.

• Announcing Support for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility. The United States today announced its support for President Lula’s bold vision of creating the TFFF – a pathbreaking new $125 billion fund that reflects both the urgency and the scale of the challenge of conserving the world’s most important forests.  TFFF will attract substantial private capital and make a meaningful contribution to tropical forest conservation.  The United States is announcing support to help finalize the necessary technical and analytical work needed to design and setup the Facility.

These announcements supplement additional efforts the United States is taking to support climate resilience and biodiversity in critical ecosystems like the Amazon and others around the world, including:

Scaling Finance to Restore and Conserve These Important Landscapes

• Leveraging Demand for High-Integrity Forest Carbon Credits. The Lowering Emissions through Advancing Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition, co-founded by the United States as a coalition of private sector and government buyers, recently announced a $180 million agreement on high-integrity forest carbon credits with the Brazilian state of Pará. Revenues from the transaction of credits generated at the scale of the entire state, at the pathbreaking price of $15/tonne of avoided emissions, will support the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest. The agreement is LEAF’s first deal in the Amazon. Next steps include full consultations with stakeholders, program validation and verification of results under the ART-TREES standard. Agreements with additional Amazon region states are expected in the coming months, starting with Acre, with significant demand-side interest for high-integrity credits from Brazilian states. 

• New Cooperation Framework Agreement Between DFC and BNDES. Last month, DFC and Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), the Brazilian Development Bank, signed a cooperation framework agreement to enhance and deepen co-investment opportunities in Brazil in climate-related sectors. This new partnership hopes to expand support for conservation and restoration investments at scale in the Amazon’s arch of reforestation and other important biodiversity-rich biomes.

• Launching a Nature-Based Solutions Investment Lab. Instituto Itausa, BB Asset, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Instituto Clima e Sociedade are partnering with USAID to structure a nature-based solutions (NbS) Investment Lab with $2 million from USAID. The lab will foster an enabling environment to unlock private investment in NbS projects by creating interaction and collaboration among different sources of funds, sources of capital, and NbS stakeholders to create innovative financial instruments and transactions; identifying and designing appropriate business models, standardized projects and assessment of impacts of NbS projects in Brazil; and addressing regulatory challenges and advocate for policy enhancements.

• Launching Alliances for the Amazon. This initiative will build on an existing partnership with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) that created a collective action platform to join private sector and civil society organizations to develop and identify innovative solutions for sustainable development and conservation of the Brazilian Amazon. In its prior phase with USAID support, the Partnership accelerated 123 biodiversity-supportive businesses, leveraged $7.5 million in private funding, and supported conservation of 39 million hectares. The new AFA partnership will expand USAID-CIAT’s ground-breaking TerraBio scientific methodology for measuring biodiversity impact for Amazon-based impact investment projects.

• USAID will Provide $2.6 Million to the Rainforest Wealth Project, led by IMAFLORA in collaboration with Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), which seeks to establish scalable economic models to conserve standing forests, meet legal requirements, enhance local community welfare, and achieve responsible market standards. The project aims to expand the Origens Brasil network to facilitate fair trade for community-produced goods, increasing corporate participation and commitment within the network. It also focuses on strengthening the value chains for non-timber forest products and promoting agroecology among family farmers, traditional communities, settlers, and quilombolas across northern and southeastern Pará, bringing them into the Origens Brasil network.

Building the Bioeconomy

• Announcing $4 million to Support New Business Models that Keep Forests Standing While Benefitting Local Businesses and Families. USAID is announcing $4 million to support a program that it is codesigning with local organization Conexsus to strengthen the bioeconomy business ecosystems in the Brazilian Amazon, bolstering a new economic model that keeps the forest standing and aligns biodiversity conservation with economic growth for local businesses and families to thrive.  This initiative builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed last March between the Skoll Foundation and USAID that recognized their shared commitment to advance locally led development and expand coordination to address deforestation issues and promote gender equality globally.

• USAID is Investing $1.4 Million in Assobio: The Call for Socio-Biodiversity. This project will strengthen bioeconomy value chains that hold potential for forest and biodiversity conservation while increasing income generation and addressing food security in the state of Mato Grosso. The project’s aim is to strengthen a thriving forest-based economy by creating new public-private arrangements that attract financing and promoting diversified strategies to support regenerative land management, entrepreneurial knowledge, and access to financial resources and markets for family farming and Indigenous people in Mato Grosso’s Amazon region. This will significantly contribute to the conservation of approximately one-third of the forest in Mato Grosso, an area of 8.9 million hectares.

Supporting Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient Supply Chains

• USAID is Investing $2.8 Million in the Regenerative Agriculture for the Conservation of the Amazon (ARCA) Activity. The ARCA program promotes nature-based solutions and restoration in buffer zones around conservation units, Indigenous lands, quilombolas, and land reform settlements in seven territories in three of Brazil’s Amazonian states—Mato Grosso, Maranhão, and Pará, all of which are located in the Brazilian Amazon’s Arc of Deforestation. ARCA’s aim is to promote sustainable land use, biodiversity conservation, and the socio-environmental resilience of traditional communities through capacity building, collaboration, and innovation. ARCA aims to help improve the management of more than 19 million hectares of land in the Amazon, working with 40 Indigenous Territories and Quilombola Areas.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is Supporting Efforts to Improve Fertilizer Efficiency.USDA has partnered with Brazilian and U.S. institutions on a groundbreaking joint research project to improve fertilizer efficiency, with the goal of combatting climate change and food insecurity. The project, called “Fertilize for Life,” currently funded at $1.2 million is part of USDA’s Fertilize Right Initiative, launched in 2023 with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Global Fertilizer Challenge, and focuses on enabling cooperation on more efficient, climate-friendly land use has significant potential to scale sustainable agriculture, improve productivity and farmers’ livelihoods, while reducing nitrous oxide emissions.

• The Department of State, through a $2.5 million award to the Nature Conservancy (TNC), is supporting efforts to reduce deforestation associated with the Brazilian cattle sector by improving traceability of cattle throughout the entire supply chain. These interventions aim to support the cattle industry in avoiding 400 million metric tons of carbon emissions per year from deforestation and habitat loss, alongside reductions in methane emissions. This effort is anchored in the State of Para, which has set a goal of achieving full cattle traceability by 2025.

Leveraging Technology to Support Forest Conservation and Management

• Partnering with the Government of Brazil to Combat Illegal Logging and Associated Trade.  The U.S. is cooperating to ensure Brazil possesses state-of-the-art technology and operational capacity for timber identification via Mass Spectrometry (DART-TOFMS: Direct Analysis in Real Time Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry). This technology identifies a unique chemical “fingerprint” to identify wood species, strengthening capacity to monitor and enforce legality in timber supply chains.

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is Supporting Near Real-Time Burn Area Mapping Efforts to the Remote Sensing Laboratory at Rio de Janeiro Federal University, providing key satellite observations used by Sistema Alarmes. The system generates daily burned area mapping updates for major endangered biomes in Brazil, helping inform decision making at the Brazilian Ministry for the Environment and Climate Change. For more than 15 years NOAA has also supported the satellite-based wildfire monitoring program at the Brazilian Institute for Space Research. That program provides critical near real-time fire detection information for most of South America using a suite of satellite datasets.

• USAID is Investing $7.8 million in its Longstanding Partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to Strengthen Brazilian Fire Management. USAID and the U.S. Forest Service support Brazilian agencies with wildfire prevention and response. Standardized fire curricula ensure all firefighters share a common language and standardized approaches like the Incident Command System. USFS promotes inclusive fire management, training women and Indigenous communities, including the first-ever all-women Indigenous fire brigade in Tocantins and Maranhão. 

Delivering for Local and Indigenous Communities

• USAID is Investing $1.9 Million to Launch the Alliance of Indigenous Peoples for the Forests of the Eastern Amazon. This alliance will bring together organizations representing Indigenous people to conserve, protect, and restore natural resources in 14 Indigenous territories in Maranhão and Tocantins states. The project will cover a total combined area of approximately 2.5 million hectares of land that is home to a population of roughly 35,000 individuals from 11 ethnic groups, as well as a group in voluntary isolation.

• Expanding Support for Existing U.S. Programs Including the Indigenous Peoples Finance Access Facility (IPFAF). This project aims to increase access to financing for Indigenous communities for forest conservation, restoration, and management with a focus on Indigenous peoples in the Amazon basin, as well as the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia. IPFAF is also working to enhance the capacity of Indigenous peoples and their representative organizations to protect and sustainably manage natural resources in 27 million hectares of forested landscapes of southern Amazonas state, and across savannah and forested landscapes of Roraima state.

• USAID Is Investing $4 Million to Launch the Tapajós for Life Activity, which aims to reduce threats to Amazon biodiversity by improving sustainable use and conservation of 7 million hectares of protected areas and Indigenous peoples’ lands and local communities’ lands in the Tapajós river basin. It will expand the sustainable value chains for forest products, support community-based tourism, and improve territorial management within the river basin.

• USAID will Invest $1.4 Million to Launch the Well-Being and Territorial Management in the Rio Negro and Xingu River Basins Project. This activity seeks to strengthen the capacity of Indigenous peoples of the Xingu and Rio Negro River basins—and their networks of partnerships—to implement Brazil’s National Policy for the Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands (PNGATI) and its management instruments, such as the Territorial and Environmental Management Plans. Strengthening the environmental management of these Indigenous territories in the Rio Negro and Xingu basins could help sustainably manage approximately 26 million hectares of land that are strategically important for the conservation of biodiversity in the Brazilian Amazon. 

• USAID is investing $2.6 million to launch the Integrated Indigenous Territorial Management activity, which will support Indigenous representative organizations to develop territorial and environmental management plans that incorporate policy advocacy on Indigenous lands, enhancing the capacity of Indigenous peoples and their representative organizations to protect and sustainably manage natural resources in a total combined area of 27 million hectares in forested landscapes of southern Amazonas state, and across the savannah and forested landscapes of Roraima state.

Leveraging U.S.-Brazil Science and Technology Partnerships

• Launching Zero Carbon Advanced Energy Systems in the Amazon. The U.S. Department of Energy will execute an assessment of renewable mini-grid deployment in the Legal Amazon region with the goal of supporting Brazil’s Energies of the Amazon Program. A flagship program for President Lula, Energies of the Amazon intends to decrease the region’s negative social and environmental impacts associated with reliance on fossil fuels. By supporting the deployment of reliable, clean power to vulnerable communities in the Amazon, this project will contribute to faster social and economic development in the region.

• Advancing One Health Cooperation in Brazil and the Amazon Basin: The National Science Foundation and its partners will announce $17 million for Belmont Forum grants focused on climate, environment, and health cooperation.  Of these, nearly $3 million in funding is for projects across Brazil and the Amazon Basin. 

• Provided $1.4 Million to Reduce Organized Criminal Activity Related to Illegal Mining and Trafficking of Mercury. The U.S. is promoting the rule of law and economic development in the Brazilian Amazon.  Illegal mining, often marked by its affiliation with organized crime groups, poses a significant threat to peace, stability, and the rule of law, as well as for the environment, ranging from illegal deforestation and water source contamination to air pollution and land degradation.

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Delfines Hotel & Convention Center

4:06 P.M. PET

PRESIDENT XI:  (As interpreted.)  Can you put on your earpiece?  We have simultaneous interpreting.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I’ve learned to speak Chinese.  (Laughter.)  Wish I did.

PRESIDENT XI:  Okay, let me begin first.  It’s a great pleasure to see you again, President Biden.  Over the past four years, China-U.S. relations have gone through ups and downs.  But under our joint stewardship, the two sides have also been engaged in fruitful dialogue and cooperation, and the relationship has been kept stable on the whole.

These developments reconfirmed the experiences and lessons of the past of 45 years of China-U.S. diplomatic ties.  When the two countries treat each other as partner and friend, seek common ground while (inaudible) differences, and help each other succeed, our relationship would make considerable progress.

But if we take each other as rival or adversary, pursue vicious competition, and seek to hurt each other, we would roil the relationship or even set it back.

The world today is turbulent, plagued by conflicts.  Old problems are compounded by new ones.  Humanity is faced with unprecedented challenges.  Major country competition should not be the underlying logic of the times.  Only solidarity and cooperation can help humanity overcome current difficulties. 

In an age of flourishing sci-tech revolution, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution.  Only mutually beneficial cooperation can lead to common development.  “Small yard, high fences” is not what a major country should pursue.  Only openness and sharing can improve the well-being of humanity.

As two major countries, China and the United States should bear in mind the interests of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world.

It is my consistent belief that as the world’s most important bilateral relationship, a stable China-U.S. relationship is critical not only to the interests of the Chinese and American peoples, but also to the future and destiny of the entire humanity. 

The two countries should bear in mind the well-being of the two peoples and the common interests of the international community, make the wise choice, keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other, and realize the long-term peaceful coexistence of China and the United States on this planet.

The United States has recently concluded its elections.  China’s goal of a stable, healthy, and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged. 

Our commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and winning cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged. 

Our position of resolutely safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests remains unchanged.

Our desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged. 

China is ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation, and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the two peoples.

I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with you on China-U.S. relations and on issues of mutual interest. 

Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, thank you very much, Mr. President.  It’s good to see you and see all of you again.  You know, one year ago, we met in the Woodside Summit in San Francisco.  And I’m very proud of the progress we’ve both made together. 

On military communication, at multiple levels our leaders are now regularly talking to one another on a regular basis.

On AI, we have brought together our nations’ experts together to discuss risks and safety.

Our counternarcotics — on that issue, we resumed cooperation.  And I want to note: In my country, Mr. President, overdose deaths are coming down for the first time in five years.

We have a lot to discuss, but let me close with this.  Over — for over a decade, you and I have spent many hours together, both here and in China and in between.  And, you know, we — I think we’ve spent a long time — (laughs) — dealing with these issues.

Let me close with this.  We — I think — and I once had to count up the number of hours you and I spent alone together.  I remember being on the Tibetan Plateau with you and I remember being in Beijing.  I remember — all over the world.  And — both as my — first as vice president, then as president.

We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank.  We have never kidded one another.  We’ve been level with one another.  And I think that’s vital. 

These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict — be competition, not conflict.

And that’s our responsibility to our people and, as you indicated, to the people around the world.  We are the most important alliance or most important re- — relationship in the entire world.  And how we get along together is going to impact the rest of the world.

And — so, you know, our two countries cannot let any of this competition veer into conflict.  And as I said, that’s our responsibility.  And over the last four years, I think we’ve proven it’s possible to have this relationship.

And — but — so, Mr. President, I’m anxious to get our meeting starting and discuss the issues we have remaining.

Thank you.

4:14 P.M. PET 

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President Joseph R. Biden Jr. met with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Lima, Peru today.  This meeting is the third between the two Presidents and follows their April 2, 2024, telephone call.  The two leaders had a candid, constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference.

President Biden underscored that U.S. investment in sources of strength at home and alignment with partners and allies around the world have been central to his Administration’s foreign policy approach.  He welcomed efforts to maintain open channels of communication with the PRC to manage competition responsibly and prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation. 

The two leaders reviewed the bilateral relationship over the past four years and took stock of efforts to responsibly manage competitive aspects of the relationship and advance areas of cooperation since the Woodside Summit in November 2023, including counternarcotics, military-military communication, artificial intelligence-related risks, climate change, and people-to-people exchanges.

On counternarcotics, both sides affirmed the importance of continued coordinated law enforcement actions, information exchanges to identify new and emerging drug trends, and regulatory actions.  President Biden welcomed the PRC’s scheduling of 55 dangerous synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, closure of online platforms and companies that supply precursor chemicals, and arrests connected to the illicit chemical industry, and he called for additional steps in the period ahead.  Both sides welcomed the resumption over the last year of high-level military-to-military communications, the U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks, U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, and engagements between theater commanders.  Both leaders affirmed the need to continue these channels of communication.

Building on a candid and constructive dialogue on AI and co-sponsorship of each other’s resolutions on AI at the United Nations General Assembly, the two leaders affirmed the need to address the risks of AI systems, improve AI safety and international cooperation, and promote AI for the good of all. The two leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.  The two leaders also stressed the need to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.

The two leaders also exchanged views on key regional and global challenges.  President Biden condemned the deployment of thousands of DPRK troops to Russia, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s unlawful war against Ukraine with serious consequences for both European and Indo-Pacific peace and security. He expressed deep concern over the PRC’s continued support for Russia’s defense industrial base.  President Biden emphasized the United States’ commitment to upholding international law and freedom of navigation, overflight, and peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea. On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States’ one China policy remains unchanged, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.  He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.  He called for an end to destabilizing PRC military activity around Taiwan.

President Biden raised concerns about the PRC’s unfair trade policies and emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine the national security of the United States or its partners, without unduly limiting trade and investment. The President noted the importance of human rights and the responsibility of all nations to respect their human rights commitments.  He emphasized that it remains a priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are unjustly detained or subject to exit bans in China.  The President raised deep concerns about ongoing PRC cyberattacks targeting civilian critical infrastructure and threatening the safety and security of Americans.

Building on the Bali and Woodside meetings, the two leaders stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship, preventing conflict, maintaining open lines of communication, cooperating on areas of shared interest, upholding the UN Charter, and all countries treating each other with respect and finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully.  Both leaders reiterated the importance of maintaining a strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and called for continued use of diplomatic, military, law enforcement, commercial, and financial channels.

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President Biden met today with President Dina Boluarte of Peru at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ week in Lima, Peru.  President Biden congratulated President Boluarte for Peru’s successful APEC host year and thanked her for Peru’s longstanding partnership with the United States.  The two leaders discussed U.S.-Peru cooperation in security and counternarcotics, economic investment and trade, and space collaboration.  

President Biden reiterated our commitment to support Peru’s counternarcotics capabilities through a $65 million security assistance package that includes the planned transfer of nine Black Hawk helicopters.  He thanked President Boluarte for Peru’s close coordination on counternarcotics, including Peru’s decision to approve measures required to share radar information between the United States and Peru for the first time in a decade.  President Biden also highlighted a California Caltrain donation of more than 100 locomotives to the city of Lima to promote cleaner transportation.  Lastly, President Biden discussed our expanded space cooperation with Peru, including through a NASA Sounding Rocket Memorandum of Understanding that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Peruvian counterparts signed as part of this visit.

The two leaders also discussed the challenges in Venezuela.  President Biden thanked Peru for its support at the Organization of American States and the United Nations to call for the return to democratic governance in Venezuela. 

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Lima Convention Center
Lima, Peru

MODERATOR:  I figured we’d do a quick gaggle on background, attributable to an SAO, reading out the Peru meeting and answer any questions you all have.

So, [senior administration official], do you want to say anything at the top?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  So, President Biden had a very warm meeting with President Dina Boluarte of Peru.  The meeting lasted for about 50 minutes — 5-0 minutes. 

In the meeting, they discussed the historic nature of the U.S.-Peru relationship.  The two countries will celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations in 2026.

President Biden also remarked that this year, 2024, marks the 15th anniversary of the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement.

They discussed cooperation between the United States and Peru on counternarcotics, and President Biden highlighted the $65 million donation of nine Black Hawk helicopters to Peru that will take place in the coming period.

They also discussed space cooperation between the United States and Peru.  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the bilat as well.

There was some discussion of regional issues, specifically Venezuela, and the need for democracies in the region, including the United States and Peru, to continue to support — for the election victory of Edmundo Gonzalez to be acknowledged by the Maduro authorities, and also discussion of migration and how the United States and Peru and other countries in the region can work together to effectively manage the challenges of migration in the region.

So those were the principal issues discussed.

One other item that was mentioned was a donation that’s been made by Caltrain of over 100 locomotives and rail cars to Peru, which will help Peru to modernize its metro system.

And President Boluarte expressed great appreciation for the U.S. contribution to Peruvian infrastructure, and really was enthusiastic about deepening that relationship on infrastructure.

MODERATOR:  Any questions?

Q    Can you talk about the counterterrorism part of it?  Sorry.  The counterterrorism part.  Why are we —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  It’s counternarcotics.

Q    Yeah, sorry.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Counternarcotics.

Q    Why are we donating Black Hawks?  Is that like — are we going to use that to, like, eradicate coca crops or something?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, it’s to fight transnational criminal organizations that are fueling the drug trade in Peru and many other countries in Latin America.  Peru, after several years of an increase in coca production, actually saw a decrease last year for the first time in many years.  And so, the United States is working with Peruvian authorities to help them to build up the capabilities to fight the influence of transnational criminal organizations in Peru.

Q    Was there any discussion of the next administration and what to expect?  Or were they picking your guys’ brains on that aspect at all?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  No, it really focused on the current U.S. bilateral relationship.  President Biden did underscore the importance of respect for democracy and strengthening democratic institutions, as he does in all of his meetings with democratic counterparts around the world.

But it was a meeting that was very much focused on, frankly, the accomplishments that the Biden administration has had with Peru over the past four years.

Q    So no — Trump didn’t come up at all in any sense?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Not explicitly, no.

Q    Any talks of the kind of hub on — that Xi is going to inaugurate, the megaport?  Like, how are leaders feeling about that?  And do they have any sense of what they’re expecting from the U.S. in terms of development financing?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, President Boluarte did mention the port but in reference to the fact that she also saw greater U.S. support and investment in infrastructure in Peru.  Infrastructure is one of her principal priorities.

President Biden did caution that it’s important for countries to maintain very high standards of transparency in their dealings with other partners around the world, including China.

Q    One last one.  What’s the U.S.’s plan at the G20 to regain momentum about Venezuela?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I don’t have any comment on the G20 at this time.

The post Background Press Gaggle on the U.S.-Peru Bilateral Meeting appeared first on The White House.

     During American Education Week, we celebrate the power and promise of our Nation’s public education system, which has empowered so many students to realize their full potential regardless of their zip code.  We show gratitude for educators and staff, who ensure that our schools are filled with hope and possibilities.  And we recommit to ensuring each student, educator, and school has the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.
     America’s public education system helps define who we are:  a Nation of possibilities, where everyone gets a fair shot to pursue their talents and ambitions.  Some of our Nation’s greatest scholars and scientists, artists and humanitarians, and dreamers and doers got their start at a public school.  Many have further honed their skills in our colleges, universities, Registered Apprenticeships, and career and technical education programs.  An education gives you something no one can take away — that is why we must remain committed to supporting our schools, which open the doors of opportunity wider for everyone.
     I am proud that my Administration secured a historic $130 billion in funding for our Nation’s K-12 schools through my American Rescue Plan.  That law put more teachers in classrooms and put more counselors, social workers, and other supportive staff in our schools.  It also invested in high-quality tutoring and made historic expansions in summer and after-school programs while upgrading the physical school buildings, including making aging buildings more secure and improving air quality. 
     My Administration also remains committed to ensuring students have the resources they need to succeed.  My American Rescue Plan led to our country’s biggest-ever investment in mental health and substance use programs, providing critical funding to increase the number of mental health providers in our schools.  Furthermore, my Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the first major Federal gun safety legislation passed in nearly 30 years — made important steps toward ending the threat of gun violence, which brings terror to far too many schools.  The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act also included $2 billion in funding to create safe, inclusive learning environments for all students and to train and hire more mental health professionals for schools.  My Administration also made it easier for schools to bill Medicaid so that they could deliver critical health services, including mental health services to students.  And through my national strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in America by 2030, we are working toward a future where every kid has access to free, healthy school meals.
     Setting students up for success also means improving our Nation’s early childhood education.  Children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree no matter their background.  My Administration has fought to make preschool universal for every 3- and 4-year-old in America.
     To support our Nation’s higher education system, my Administration secured nearly $40 billion for colleges and universities through my American Rescue Plan.  That includes billions of dollars in funding for Minority-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  I have always believed that higher education should be a pathway to the middle class — but we have to make it more affordable.  That is why my Administration provided the largest increases to the maximum Pell Grant award in over a decade, making college more affordable for over six million students.  We also canceled student loan debt for over one million public service workers, including teachers, by fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.  Before I took office, only 7,000 public service workers had ever received the forgiveness they were entitled to through PSLF.  In total, we have approved debt cancellation for nearly five million Americans across all our various debt relief actions, including fixing Income-Driven Repayment so borrowers get the relief they earned and holding the colleges that take advantage of students and families accountable.
     Everyone deserves a fair shot at the American Dream, so my Administration has invested more in Registered Apprenticeships and career and technical training programs than any other administration in history, empowering workers to earn while they learn and opening up new pathways to secure good-paying jobs.  We are also working to expand Registered Apprenticeships for educators and increase access to high-quality teacher preparation programs, including by making them more affordable.
     During American Education Week, we show our gratitude to the educators and school staff across our Nation, who are the kite strings that keep our national ambitions aloft.  And together, we will work to ensure our Nation’s students have every opportunity to succeed.
     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 17 through November 23, 2024, as American Education Week.  I call upon all Americans to mark this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities honoring those who devote their talents and energies to helping our children reach their full potential and to building school communities where all students feel they belong.
     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.
 
 
 
                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Lima Convention Center
Lima, Peru

MODERATOR:  We’ll do this on background, attributed to a senior administration official.  Just a couple minutes to read out the trilat meeting.

Do you want to kick us off and provide —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Sure.  Maybe just a few comments.

Just finished the trilateral leaders-level meeting between President Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Ishiba Shigeru.  The meeting lasted probably just over 40 minutes, simultaneous interpretation.  So they covered a lot of ground.

I was struck by the fact that every leader commented on how extraordinary this — and how extraordinarily important this trilateral cooperation has become.  They all noted that since Camp David, there’s been an incredible acceleration in our work together, and also the areas in which we’re working has really broadened significantly, from security to economics to economic security, technology, really across the board.

They did do a tour d’horizon of sorts across the region and across the world.  They talked about the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and across the Taiwan Strait.  They talked about how closely we’re working, all three of us, in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific Islands.

But the issue that they probably discussed most in depth was the growing threat posed by the DPRK, both the DPRK’s growing missile and nuclear capabilities and also, of course, the really escalatory and destabilizing nature of Russia-DPRK cooperation, particularly, of course, the deployment of North Korean troops into the Kursk region.

So those were the issues that were covered.  And, again, the one that was addressed most in depth was the DPRK-Russia issue.

And with that, I’m happy to take your questions.

Q    Sure.  The one person you didn’t mention was Donald Trump.  Did his name come up in any of the discussions?  Did the Asian leaders express any concern or seek any insight (inaudible)?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  No.  As a matter of fact, the President-elect’s name did not come up.  I think you saw in the pool spray the President did note we’re in a time of transition.  He noted, of course, we have a newly elected Japanese Prime Minister, Ishiba.  You know, we’ll have a transition in the United States.

But the focus of the conversation was entirely on, I’d say, two things.  It was the here and now of the challenges and the common interests that we share, and then the recognition that both our shared interests and the shared challenges are enduring.  And that was the nature of the conversation.

Q    Did they talk about consequences for the DPRK, for the Russian (inaudible)?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, the way I would term it is all three leaders said we need to continue to follow very closely these concerning developments, and, most importantly, we need to coordinate more closely than ever before on how we’re going to respond.  And of course, our teams are talking every day about the best ways to do that.

Q    So, did any of the leaders talk about the future of burden sharing under the new administration?  I understand that South Korea and the U.S. have just signed sort of like a new agreement that will hold for a few years ahead, which is an increase of the previous agreement on burden sharing.  Did they talk about that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yeah, the Special Measures Agreement issue, you — I think you’ve described accurately.  That was not discussed today.  Again, what we discussed today: Every leader noted how incredibly important this trilateral cooperation has been and will continue to be going forward.  And then we talked about all the different areas in which we’re currently cooperating.

Q    Was the sense on the growing DPRK-Russia relationship that there is something that can be done to sort of break this up?  Or are you all looking at this as a threat going forward that might intensify?  I guess, whatever you’re doing, is that going to —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I think, one, there’s an increasing recognition that, more than ever before, security matters between Europe and Asia are indivisible and more interlinked than they’ve ever been before.

But we talked about a number of steps, both diplomatic in terms of our respective military postures and sanctions measures and the like.  All of those things, I think, are options before us, and we’ll have to consider, I think collaboratively, how best to engage going forward.

But there was tremendous convergence on just how destabilizing this growing nexus between Moscow and Pyongyang is for the region.

And, look, I think there was also a recognition that China has a role to play here as well.  And I think there’s a sense that one would think it should not be in Beijing’s interest to have this kind of destabilizing cooperation take place in the region as well. 

Q    There was no discussion of Trump in terms of his relationship with Kim and how that has sort of changed during his years and then into the Biden administration?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  None whatsoever.

Q    Do you think it’s hard to have these conversations in a meaningful way without acknowledging this change in administration that’s going to be coming up?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  What we’re focused on is the here and now.  And I know that, of course, as I said at the top, even in front of the press, there was a recognition that we’re in a period of transition.  But as we often say, there’s one president at a time, and the focus of this meeting was what are we going to do together, especially over the next couple of months, to deter particularly these growing threats that I’ve

addressed.

Q    I know there was a pull-aside with the Japanese Prime Minister.  Did Nippon Steel come up?  Was that a discussion today?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I don’t know.  I wasn’t there, so I do not know.

Q    It didn’t come up in the trilat, I assume?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  No, it did not.

Q    What is the current understanding of how the North Korean troops are being used?  How many are actually in the fight versus, you now, sort of —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I don’t have anything new to report to that.  I think you’ve seen Admiral Kirby and others have spoken extensively from the podium.

But as we’ve talked about, the 10,000-plus North Korean troops that are in Russia, we believe are now all or predominantly in the Kursk region.  We presume they have gone there to engage in combat, but I don’t have anything beyond those top lines that you’ve seen already.

Q    Is there anything new in terms of missile warning systems, the trilateral part?  Or is that just a continuation of what has already been set up?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I think you’ll see the three of us will have a statement coming out soon, and we’ll speak to — perhaps it’s already out.  You’ll see there’s an agreement to continue to share in real time missile data.  I think that’s really important.

And even though I’ve emphasized just how broad and deep our cooperation is, I think there was a recognition among the three leaders that, in particular, our security cooperation has probably increased most dramatically, and that’s probably most impactful and most needed at this time, given the growing threats that we talked about.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  And the strong recognition by the three leaders that that cooperation, on real-time sharing, needs to be enhanced further in order to respond to these growing threats.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  And, look, maybe just reinforcing that, as well, the trilateral military exercise, Freedom Edge, has either — has wrapped or is just wrapping up.

Again, I think this is, really, a tangible manifestation of what we’re doing together in real time.

Q    But can I ask just on the missile warning system: On the increase of that, I think Jake mentioned yesterday that, in particular, a period of transition is a time where the DPRK might try to act provocatively.  So is there urgency during this transition period to make this statement?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  What we’re doing is we’re following President Biden’s direction.  We’re going to have the most orderly, peaceful, and effective transition possible, and we’re going to do so in a way that ensures that we do everything to ensure America’s security and prosperity.

And I have to say it would be very unwise for any of our adversaries to think that this is a period of time in which they could try to seek advantage.  That would be a great miscalculation.

MODERATOR:  All right, I think we got to wrap here.

Q    Do you see alignment with the two countries on potential actions you would take in response to the DPRK’s troop deployment?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I think — well, look, again, we agree that we’re going to follow — continue following these developments closely, continue our intensive conversations about how to go forward. 

But the word that I would use to describe the conversation would be “convergence.”  Tremendous convergence in our views, our outlook, and our determination to respond collectively to these challenges.  And as for how we’ll do that in detail, I think you’ll see more about that in the coming days and weeks.

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Lima Convention Center
Lima, Peru

3:48 P.M. PET

PRESIDENT BOLUARTE:  (As interpreted.)  Dear Mr. President of the United States —

(The interpretive audio devices are adjusted.)

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  I have to tell you before I begin, when I was a young senator, the president — a senior senator from Texas said, “Joe, someday you’re going to run for president.  You better learn Spanish.”  (Laughter.)  I only speak English.

All right.

PRESIDENT BOLUARTE:  (As interpreted.)  Dear Mr. President Biden, first of all, I would like to welcome you to our dear country amidst the APEC 2024 Leaders’ Week.  We hope that you and your delegation are enjoying your stay here in Lima, Peru, and that you are well treated. 

Thank you very much for your visit.  Thank you very much for sharing our mutual interests through this APEC forum, where we gather with the most important 21 economies in the world. 

You, Mr. President, and your delegation are most welcome to my country.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, Madam President, thank you very much.  And my only concern is my colleagues are not going to come home with me.  (Laughter.)  They’re going to want to stay.  You have a truly beautiful country. 

And you’re a very important and valued partner.  That’s for real. 

Our countries work closely together, day in and day out, to manage the regional challenges we both face, to defend democracy, to protect the environment, and to provide good jobs — good-paying jobs for our people. 

With your permission, Madam President, I’d like to highlight three areas of growing cooperation. 

First, we want to thank you for elevating our fight against drug trafficking, a mutual concern.  I’m pleased to announce $65 million over the next five years to assist — in assistance to Peru, including the nine Black Hawk helicopters and training for more than 130 pilots and technicians.

And second, we are partnering on infrastructure.  California Caltrain has donated 150 passenger cars and locomotives to the Lima metro rail, part of a much larger collaboration that will save Peru millions of dollars and reduce pollution and deepen ties between and among our businesses.

And third, we’re cooperating on space exploration.  Now, that fellow right there, the former senator from Florida — very close friend of mine — every time my wife thinks I’m getting out of hand, she says, “I’m going to call him and have him send you to space.”  (Laughter.)  And I’m a little concerned he may want to send me to space because we got to get some folks back home.  (Laughter.)

In May, Peru joined the — the Artemis Accords and set the principles of the be- — best practices for how we move on space.

And this week, we’ve agreed to cooperate on research rockets as well — our countries.

So, Madam President, thank you for your leadership within APEC, and thank you for your partnership and friendship with the United States.  And I genuinely look forward to our discussion.

PRESIDENT BOLUARTE:  (As interpreted.)  Thank you very much. 

3:52 P.M. PET

The post Remarks by President Biden and President Dina Boluarte Zegarra of the Republic of Peru in Bilateral Meeting | Lima, Peru appeared first on The White House.

     America’s workers are the best in the world — and that is in no small part due to our exceptional Registered Apprenticeship programs.  During National Apprenticeship Week, we recommit to supporting these programs, which put so many Americans on a path to securing good-paying jobs and helping build the industries of the future.

     I have often said that the middle class built America and unions built the middle class, and Registered Apprenticeship programs — including the hundreds of union-run programs — have produced some of our Nation’s most skilled workers for generations.  Registered Apprenticeships empower workers to hone their skills or gain new ones by allowing them to earn while they learn and connecting them to good-paying jobs.  These apprenticeships have given so many of our workers the opportunity to work with dignity and care for their families all while training our workforce to build the industries of our future, like clean energy or cybersecurity.

     My Administration made the largest Federal investment in our Nation’s history in Registered Apprenticeships.  Since taking office, we have invested more than $730 million to expand Registered Apprenticeships, leading to the hiring of more than one million apprentices across the country.  More than $80 billion has been committed from my American Rescue Plan to strengthen and expand the workforce, including to expand Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs.  We are also creating opportunities for apprentices through our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and our Inflation Reduction Act, which provides strong incentives for employers to hire Registered Apprentices in their clean energy projects.

     Further, my Administration is making sure that Registered Apprentices are helping build the industries of the future and fulfill needs in critical industries.  Our Advanced Manufacturing Sprint and Investing in America Workforce Hubs launched intensive drives to build a diverse, skilled pipeline of workers for advanced manufacturing jobs, including union jobs — many of which do not require a 4-year college degree.  To do that, we have been bringing together unions, local governments, employers, training providers, K-12 schools, community colleges, and other stakeholders to train and connect workers to jobs in high-demand sectors.  For teachers, my Administration has helped expand teacher Registered Apprenticeship programs to 46 States, to help train the next generation of educators.  For construction workers, the Department of Labor’s Scaling Apprenticeship Readiness Across the Building Trades Initiative is enrolling thousands of Americans to help rebuild our Nation’s roads, bridges, and highways.  For truck drivers, we held a 90-Day Trucking Apprenticeship Challenge, which helped get more drivers on the road.  And for cybersecurity professionals, we completed a 120-Day Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint, which has helped thousands get hired in industries that protect Americans from cyberthreats. 

     My Administration is also ensuring our Registered Apprentices reflect the diversity of America.  Our Apprenticeship Ambassador Initiative is working with more than 200 organizations committed to hiring 10,000 new apprentices and recruiting people from historically underrepresented communities for apprenticeship programs.  And through the Department of Labor’s Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grant program, we are continuing to invest in women in the skilled trades, who are too often underrepresented.  Thanks to these efforts, the number of women in apprenticeships will soon surpass 100,000 for the first time ever.

     Supporting Registered Apprenticeships is about doing what our Nation does best — investing in America and America’s workers.  This week, we celebrate apprentices nationwide, whose hard work has contributed so much to our Nation’s economy and prosperity.  May we continue to support these programs, which have created endless possibilities for Americans.

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 17 through November 23, 2024, as National Apprenticeship Week.  I urge the Congress, State and local governments, educational institutions, industry and labor leaders, apprentices, and all Americans to support Registered Apprenticeship programs in the United States of America and to raise awareness of their importance in building a diverse and robust workforce to strengthen our national economy.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

                              JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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Lima Convention Center
Lima, Peru

2:44 P.M. PET

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Well, Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister, welcome.  It’s good to be with all of you again.  This is a great group.

Fifteen months ago, we held the first-ever leader-level summit of our three countries at Camp David, back in the United States, and it inaugurated a whole new era of cooperation between our — among our three countries.  And it was part of a much larger effort these past four years to bring together America’s Pacific allies.

And I’m proud — I’m proud of how far we’ve come since that historic meeting, promoting development in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific Islands, linking arms to secure the technologies of the future, and countering North Korea’s dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia.  Whether — whatever the issue, we’re taking it on together, and I think it’s — it makes a big difference for peace and security.

We’ve now reached a moment of significant political change, and I congratulate the prime minister for — on his taking office.  And this is likely to be my last trilateral meeting with this important group, but I’m proud to have helped be one of the parts of building this — this partnership, and I think it’s built to last.  That’s my ho- — hope and expectation.

I truly believe cooperation of our countries will be the foundation to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for many years to come if we stay together.  And I believe that.

So, I look forward to our discussion.

And, Mr. President, I now turn it over to you.

PRESIDENT YOON:  (As interpreted.)  Last year, at Camp David, we agreed to organize trilateral summit every year, and I am pleased that we are delivering on the agreement today with President Biden and with new Prime Minister Ishiba.

Today’s meeting demonstrates the three countries’ strong commitment to developing our trilateral cooperation continuously.  In the midst of complex global crises, cooperation between the ROK, the U.S., and Japan not only coincides with the national interest of all three countries but is also essential for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

As we can see from the recent deployment of DPRK troops to Russia, the challenging security environment within and outside the region once again reminds us the importance of our trilateral cooperation.

Since the Camp David Leaders’ Summit last year led by President Biden, our trilateral cooperation has become and is becoming stronger every day.  I want to extend my gratitude for President Biden’s leadership.

We now have regular trilateral high-level consultations, including the one between the heads of states.  And we also now have consultative bodies in various areas in place.  We are accumulating our experiences of a trilateral cooperation fast, which is leading to tangible results.

The trilateral cooperation now goes beyond the security as it has developed into comprehensive and institutional cooperation that encompasses economy; advanced technologies, such as AI and quantum technology; as well as exchange between future generations.

The trilateral secretariat that will be launched as a result of today’s meeting will be a strong foundation that will lead to even greater cooperation among our three nations. 

I look forward a constructive discussion on the close coordination and cooperation with the two leaders today.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Mr. Prime Minister.

PRIME MINISTER ISHIBA:  (As interpreted.)  It is a great pleasure for me to be given this opportunity to participate in this meeting.  While our countries are surrounded by an increasingly challenging security environment, the Japan-U.S. alliance, the U.S.-ROK alliance, and our strategic partnerships are essential in securing peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific.

In order to effectively respond to international challenges of intensifying complexity, our trilateral partnership has become more important than ever.  And against such backdrop, it’s encouraging to see our trilateral cooperation expanding in diverse areas on the global scene since the Camp David summit last year.

And especially noteworthy is the trilateral security cooperation, which has been elevated to new heights — as symbolized by the joint exercise, Freedom Edge, executed most recently — founded on the trust Prime Minister Kishida built with President Biden and President Yoon, and capitalizing the trilateral coordinating secretariat to be announced today. 

I look forward to furthering our partnership in response against North Korea and in many other areas.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Thank you, gentlemen. 

2:50 P.M. PET

The post Remarks by President Biden, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru of Japan, and President Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea in Trilateral Meeting | Lima, Peru appeared first on The White House.

Newark, Delaware

Tashauna, it’s so clear that you have a spark for learning and a love for the Delaware Tech community. You prove what I’ve always said, nurses are always my best students! Thank you for sharing your story with us today.

To Dan Ehmann, Dr. Mark Brainard, and the Board of Trustees, thank you all for being champions of Del Tech, and for this incredible honor.

I tell my students that you never know where life will take you. Today is my own reminder of that.

Even though Joe and I have been to many dedication ceremonies, I never imagined that anything would be named after me.

And on such a special day for me, I’m grateful to be surrounded by so many good friends.

Like Mary Doody, my Delaware Tech partner and a true friend for life—thank you for enriching me, encouraging me, and for working to drive this day forward. You made every day coming to work fun.

Senator Coons—Chris—you and Annie have been exceptional friends to Joe and me. And as our soon-to-be Senior Senator—we are all grateful for your service.

Governor, and now Mayor-elect, Carney and First Spouse Quillen Carney—John and Tracey: thank you for your years of leadership and your friendship.

I’m also grateful to all of the other elected officials here with us today. 

To my Del Tech colleagues and so many friends, thank you for honoring me today.

Delaware has loved our family throughout our lives and we love you back. Delaware is family.

A little more than 30 years ago, I was teaching over at Brandywine High School when I heard from my friend Sally Farmer, who had just left the high school and began working here. She said, “Jill, you’ve got to come by Delaware Tech. You would love it.”

Then another Brandywine High School teacher, Ron Klopfer, called and encouraged me to consider Del Tech.

So, one day I came for a visit.  All at once I felt a sense of purpose—right away, it was home. I knew I wanted to teach here. Ron and Sally kept an eye out for an opening, and eventually, I accepted a job here.

And I remember thinking: no more cafeteria duty!

There’s a saying that “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” I became a teacher to help light those fires in my students, and watch them grow bigger and brighter over time.

My Del Tech students came from all walks of life: recent high school graduates, immigrants, veterans, and mothers coming back to school, looking to start new chapters as nurses and engineers and teachers.

But no matter their background, one thing they all shared is how much they wanted to be here.

I saw it in the student who brought her daughter to class, because her child care plans had fallen through. The student who showed up five minutes late to 8 AM English Comp, because he had to race from the night shift at his second job.

They pushed through every obstacle, and kept their fire for learning burning bright.

And the thing I love about community colleges is that they’re flexible. They meet students right where they are, and help them get where they want to go.

That’s driven, in part, by devoted professors, like those here at Del Tech. When my colleagues and I stay late to give feedback or rework lesson plans, it’s for the sole reason that we care about every student who walks through our door.

It’s also driven by support services that are woven into every part of a student’s journey, like the ones found at this Student Success Center. This is a central place where you can meet a mentor, sit down with an advisor to map out a graduation timeline, and find the scholarships that can help pay for your next steps.

Community colleges offer a clear, affordable path to jobs that pay well, no matter a student’s background. And while there are many ways to find solid footing in the middle class, a lot of them run through community colleges.

That’s why they have been so important to Joe and me. Just this week, we hosted a White House Summit with community college leaders like Dr. Brainard. Because we want more students across the country to have the kinds of opportunities that Del Tech provides.

As all of you know, throughout my time in the White House, I’ve continued to teach at a community college. There was no precedent for this. No First Lady had ever maintained an independent career outside of the White House.

But I couldn’t give it up. I am first, foremost, and forever a teacher—and community colleges will always have my heart.

In so many ways, that started here. So I am honored to remain a part of this community through the Student Success Center.

At the end of the day, what inspires me most is my students. And it is my hope that the center bearing my name can inspire them—making them feel welcomed, embraced, and hopeful for their future, wherever it may lead.

Thank you.

###

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