Biden’s America: How far will reforms go?

US President Joe Biden has dispatched his top diplomat to the region to shore up democracy and reverse gains made by autocrats under his predecessor Donald Trump.

The president has again said that he has a commitment to defend Taiwan should China attack, contradicting the US's decades-old policy toward the island. It has prompted official clarification about the US's role in Asia.

The first stop for the devout Catholic US president is an audience with the pope, then Biden will make the case for democratic values and US leadership on climate change at the G20 and COP26 meetings.

Tens of millions of working Americans will need to be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19 by early January under new government rules. Companies that fail to comply could be fined thousands of dollars.

A majority of lawmakers voted to approve Biden's $1.2 trillion package — setting up the president to sign it into law. Political infighting among the Democrats, however, meant delays on Biden's social welfare bill.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke to his Chinese counterpart amid rising international concern over Beijing's recent military incursions into Taiwan's air defense zone.

While talking to US President Joe Biden, China's Xi Jingping warned that attempts to control China with Taiwan were "like playing with fire."

US President Joe Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law in a ceremony at the White House. The bill is a bipartisan compromise and a streamlined version of the original.

US President Joe Biden has signed the $1 trillion package of spending on America's infrastructure. The money will be spent on roads, transport, broadband and other areas. It's a rare bipartisan deal, and Democrats are now focusing on an even larger package for healthcare, education and climate change. Also today, a co-operative runs its first freight train service on France's railways. The partly crowdfunded initiative Railcoop is also planning to start passenger services on underused lines.

Although the virtual meeting between the US and Chinese leaders did not lead to any big breakthroughs, both sides expressed willingness to cooperate on "guardrails" to prevent competition from turning into catastrophe.

Leaders of the US, Canada, and Mexico met after a five-year gap. While they emphasized cooperation, tensions were raised about the auto industry, Biden's "Buy American" policies and a Mexican energy bill.

The situation along the border is growing increasingly unstable as fears of a Russian invasion mount. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russia's foreign minister in an attempt to defuse the tension. Washington wants to limit Moscow's room for maneuver.