Quad Summit In Australia Cancelled After Biden Decides To Skip The Meet Amid Looming US Debt Default

The Quad summit in Sydney, Australia has been cancelled after US President Joe Biden pulled out of his Australian visit due to unfolding difficulties in negotiating his country’s debt ceiling.

Instead, the Quad leaders will now meet on the sidelines of G7 summit in Japan's Hiroshima.

Biden spoke with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday (16 May) to inform him that he will be postponing his trip to Australia.

"President Biden will return to the United States on Sunday (21 May), following the completion of the G7 summit, in order to be back for meetings with Congressional leaders to ensure that Congress takes action by the deadline to avert default," the White House said in a statement.

Quad group consists of four members - Australia, India, Japan and the US - and is focused on promoting an open Indo-Pacific.

China sees it as an attempt to push back against its growing influence in the region.

Early Wednesday (17 May), Albanese said he hoped the Quad summit could go ahead as planned on 24 May with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Fumio Kishada and a senior US representative, but later the Australian PM confirmed that the event was off.

The US is on the brink of an economic crisis that could have global implications, with the US Treasury on track to run out of money as soon as 1 June. 

A divided Congress, with Republicans in Majority in the US House of Representatives, has so far failed to raise the country's borrowing limit and thereby keep America from defaulting on its debts.

According to the economists, the default has never happened before and could push the US and global economy into harrowing territory.

"The President has made clear that members of Congress from both parties and chambers must come together to prevent default, as they have 78 times before," the White House said, adding that the Biden administration will continue to work with Congressional leadership to deliver a budget agreement that can reach the President’s desk.