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WASHINGTON, June 22 – U.S. President Joe Biden and Narendra Modi hailed a new era in their countries’ relationship after the White House rolled out the red carpet for the Indian prime minister on Thursday, touting deals on defense and commerce aimed at countering China’s global influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo great nations, two great friends, and two great powers. Cheers,” Biden told Modi in a toast at a state dinner. Modi said in reply: \u201cYou are soft spoken, but when it comes to action, you are very strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the countries are not formal treaty-bound allies and India has long relished its independence, Washington wants Delhi to be a strategic counterweight to China. While neither leader criticized Beijing directly in official statements, they alluded to the Xi Jinping-led government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo Pacific,” Modi told Congress. “The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Biden and Modi spoke privately for more than two hours, a joint statement included a warning of rising tensions and destabilizing actions in the East and South China Sea and stressed the importance of international law and freedom of navigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The challenges and opportunities facing the world in this century require that India and the United States work and lead together, and we are,” Biden said as he welcomed Modi to the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state dinner, held in a large, elaborately erected tent on the White House South Lawn, featured a number of Silicon Valley executives on the guest list, including Apple’s Tim Cook, 23 and Me CEO Anne Wojcicki, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the slightly Indian-accented dinner, the Bidens followed a White House tradition of serving guests from abroad food that has faint <\/a>echoes of home with a strong American bent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n