Joe Biden met his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in San Francisco on Friday to talk about immigration, on the sidelines of a summit of Pacific Rim countries which highlighted the geopolitical fault lines of the moment, from Ukraine to Gaza.
The American president assured, on the last day of the meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), that he could not have a “better partner” than Mexico.
Joe Biden thanked his counterpart for helping him “meet the challenge” of the migration crisis on the border of the two countries, acknowledging: “I know it’s not easy.”
He also discussed the work of the two countries against trafficking in fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate responsible for tens of thousands of overdoses each year in the United States.
The Mexican president described the relationship between the two countries as “excellent.”
The interview is organized the day after a meeting between “AMLO”, nickname of the Mexican president, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, demonstrating the intense competition between Washington and Beijing right at the gates of America.
Act with “humanity”
Beijing has invested heavily in many emerging countries, including Latin America.
Joe Biden wants to offer an attractive American alternative, for example by concluding various and varied agreements within APEC, which brings together 21 countries accounting together for 60% of the world economy.
With Mexico, the Democratic American president has another priority: responding to the arrivals of migrants in large numbers at the border between the two countries, more than 3,000 kilometers long.
Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, is facing repeated attacks from his political opponents against his migration policy, but also growing discontent from local Democratic officials.
Joe Biden assures that he wants to act with “humanity”, while taking, in fact, decisions which clearly restrict access to American territory.
On Friday, “AMLO” thanked his counterpart for putting in place legal immigration channels.
He also said he was “fully aware of the devastation” caused by fentanyl in the United States.
Fentanyl, made from products very often coming from China, is another subject that is poisoning the re-election campaign of the 80-year-old Democrat.
Joe Biden had also obtained from Xi Jinping a commitment to fight further against this trafficking, during a summit on Wednesday between the two presidents, which made it possible to renew a dialogue that had been pending for a year.
“Exchange of points of view”
The APEC summit, a forum primarily economic in nature, unsurprisingly confirmed disagreements on Ukraine and Gaza.
On “the crisis in Gaza”, member states, including important Muslim countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, “exchanged their respective points of view”, according to a press release.
“Some leaders also shared messages from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),” which condemned the “barbaric” actions of Israeli forces in Gaza.
Joe Biden reaffirmed his firm support for Israel on Wednesday.
Regarding Ukraine, “most members strongly condemned the aggression” against that country.
Russia was represented at the meeting by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, the highest-ranking Russian dignitary to visit the United States since the war began in February 2022.
This separate statement was issued at the request of “certain members”, who “do not believe that APEC is an appropriate forum to discuss geopolitical matters.”
APEC also released a consensual “Golden Gate Declaration”, referring to the iconic San Francisco bridge.
Member States promise to “encourage economic growth, while responding to environmental challenges such as climate change”.