Biden pledges at Americas summit an alternative to Chinese-led infrastructure and development loans

By JOSH BOAK and FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday welcomed leaders from countries across the Americas to an economic summit by pledging to increase U.S. investment in the region in part to counter China’s influence. The U.S. president did not specifically mention China in his opening remarks at the first Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit. But Biden openly alluded to the country that has emerged as a chief geopolitical competitor to the United States that has offered development loans to countries in the Western Hemisphere. Along with Biden, officials from Barbados Canada, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Panama attended summit events that included discussions about migration and supply chains.