Biden administration invites Taiwan to its Summit for Democracy

The Biden administration has invited Taiwan to a virtual summit on democracy alongside more than 100 countries.

The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democracies and autocratic governments at the heart of his foreign policy.

The first-of-its-kind gathering is a test of President Biden’s assertion, announced in his first foreign policy address in office in February, that he would return the United States to global leadership to face down authoritarian forces led by China and Russia.

“The Summit for Democracy will take place online on December 9 and 10 ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition next year.

“There are 110 participants on the State Department’s invitation list for the virtual event, which aims to help stop democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide. The list does not include China or Russia.”

The invite for Taiwan comes as China has stepped up pressure on countries to downgrade or sever relations with the island, which is considered by Beijing to have no right to the trappings of a state.

The US move is guaranteed to further inflame tensions between the two superpowers.

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Kamila/Reuters