Biden to host Quad leaders in hometown farewell

US President Joe Biden will host the leaders of allies Australia, India and Japan in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware on September 21 for talks focused on tensions with China, the White House said on Thursday.

The summit comes as Biden eyes his foreign policy legacy in his final months as a one-term president, after dropping out of the 2024 US election and effectively handing the Democratic Party nomination to his vice-president, Kamala Harris.

“This will be President Biden’s first time hosting foreign leaders in Wilmington as president – a reflection of his deep personal relationships with each of the Quad leaders, and the importance of the Quad to all of our countries,” his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden “looks forward” to welcoming Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, she added.

The four-way Quad grouping dates back to 2007, but Biden has strongly pushed the alliance as part of an emphasis on international alliances to rein in adversaries – especially China.