Biden declares 'new era' of U.S. diplomacy in U.N. speech
President Joe Biden declared Tuesday the world is at an “inflection point in history,” urging countries to join forces to tackle threats such as climate change, pandemics and corruption — or else risk failing in ways that “will reverberate for generations.”
Having ended a 20-year-long, “relentless” war in Afghanistan, Biden said the United States is ready for a new era and that it intends to face modern transnational threats through diplomacy, developmental aid and partnerships, not military force. And although America does not seek a “new Cold War,” it nonetheless intends to “compete vigorously” with rising powers that do not always share its values or interests, he said in a veiled reference to China.
Biden made the plea for global unity in his first speech as U.S. president to the United Nations General Assembly, an address that came as his own record on international cooperation faces significant criticism.
“Instead of continuing to fight the wars of the past,” Biden said, “we are fixing our eyes on devoting our resources to the challenges that hold the keys to our collective future: Ending this pandemic, addressing the climate crisis, managing the shifts in global power dynamics, shaping the rules of the world on vital issues like trade, cyber and emerging technologies, and facing the threat of terrorism as it stands today.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/21/biden-diplomacy-united-nations-speech-513384