White House says Biden discussed China challenges with leaders from India, Japan, Australia

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, not pictured, participate beside staff and cabinet members in a virtual meeting with Asia-Pacific nation leaders at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 12, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden discussed challenges posed by China with leaders from India, Japan and Australia in a meeting on Friday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

Sullivan told reporters at a briefing that the virtual meeting between the Quad countries, a group central to Biden’s efforts to counter China’s growing military and economic power in the Indo-Pacific, did not focus on China, but touched on freedom of navigation in the East and South China Seas.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Writing by Michael Martina)