Biden plans to focus on coronavirus in first G-7 meeting

President Biden will join leaders of the Group of Seven (G-7) nations this Friday for a virtual summit focused on the global response to COVID-19 and efforts to build back world economies, a White House statement said Sunday.

At the virtual gathering, hosted by the United Kingdom, Biden will "focus on a global response to the COVID-19 pandemic," suggesting that the Biden administration will pursue an approach to the pandemic that involves U.S. allies in a greater role than did the Trump administration, which pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization-led COVAX effort to distribute vaccines in less developed nations.

The Biden administration pledged in January to rejoin that effort, while also vowing to vaccinate 100 million Americans within the first 100 days of the president taking office.

Other discussions with leaders at the summit will focus on economic recovery from the pandemic, which left millions out of work in the U.S. alone, as well as the G-7's economic stance toward China, which the president has vowed to hold accountable for acts of economic espionage and other trade disputes.

"President Biden will also discuss the global economic recovery, including the importance of all industrialized countries maintaining economic support for the recovery and collective measures to build back better," the statement from the White House read.

"President Biden will also discuss need to make investments to strengthen our collective competitiveness and the importance of updating global rules to tackle economic challenges such as those posed by China," it continued.

Friday's meeting will be the first G-7 meeting of Biden's presidency and the first time the group of allies has met since April of last year.