Biden heads to the G20 looking to make the most of Xi and Putin’s absence

US President Joe Biden arrives in New Delhi on Friday for the annual gathering of the Group of 20 with plans to counter mounting military and economic aggression from Russia and China, while also demonstrating the US’s commitment to developing countries, Report informs via CNN.

That the autocratic leaders of those two nations – each themselves a member of the G20 – are skipping this year’s summit only underscores the fractures coursing through the gathering of the world’s largest economies.

Ahead of Biden’s arrival, officials were hurriedly working to draft joint declarations that could be signed off on by the summit’s end. But the talks have been difficult, according to diplomats, and reflected the wide divides within the G20 over the most contentious global issues.

Biden has long held an abiding faith in the power of institutions like the G20 to come together at moments of global peril and hopes to focus on issues like climate change and debt restructuring during his two days here.

Yet unlike the smaller and more like-minded G7, this week’s larger summit brings together a wider swath of nations with a broad range of outlooks, from the war in Ukraine to the imperative to counter Beijing.

For some western officials, the utility of the G20 in an era of fractured interests and global conflict is in doubt. But entering the summit, Biden’s aides emphasized they still view the forum as capable of producing valuable outcomes.

“We hope this G20 summit will show that the world’s major economies can work together even in challenging times,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said this week. “So, as we head into New Delhi, our focus is going to be on delivering for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people from climate to technology, and showing our commitment to the G20 as a forum that can actually deliver.”