NEW YORK -- U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed on Thursday their countries' commitment to defending democratic principles and the importance of a level playing field in business, signaling a united front against China and Russia.
"We will stand up for democratic principles and universal rights when we see China, or any other country, working to undermine free and open societies," Biden said during a joint news conference.
Merkel said she discussed with Biden the need to respond to China's non-market practices, and for their countries to be technological leaders. She also declared support for Biden's bill to invest in American microchip manufacturing and research.
"There is a lot of common understanding that China in many areas is our competitor," the outgoing German leader said. "Trade with China needs to rest on the assumption that we have a level playing field so that we all play by the same rules and have the same standards."
"Basically, the rules as to how we deal with China ought to rest and do rest on our shared values," she added.
The U.S. and Germany are key allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization but relations soured under former President Donald Trump. Biden and Merkel have a long-standing relationship and Thursday's meeting was aimed at rebuilding the trans-Atlantic partnership.
Merkel was the first European leader to visit Biden, and the president noted: "Chancellor Merkel has been here frequently over the past 16 years. She knows the Oval Office as well as I do."
As the European Union's largest and most economically powerful member, Germany will play a key role in the Biden administration's effort to create a united front with the European Union and NATO in the great power competition with China and Russia.
Yet the two countries still have differences, which Merkel noted in the news conference.
China has remained Germany's main trade partner since overtaking the U.S. in 2016 -- though the U.S. is Germany's top market for exports -- and it is unlikely that Berlin shares Washington's desire to economically decouple from Beijing.
However, a senior administration official underscored the agreement at last month's Group of Seven summit by Merkel and Biden on the need to respond to China's "non-market practices" and "human rights abuses."
"I think we've consistently been very clear that we need to engage China from a position of strength, which includes our alliances and partnerships. And Germany, of course, is one of our closest alliances," the official said.
According to a poll by German newspaper Die Welt last December, only 17% of Germans supported siding with the U.S. in a potential conflict with China, with 77% in favor of not siding with either.
The biggest thorn in the U.S.-German relationship in recent years has not been China, however, but the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that directly links Russia to Germany.
The pipeline will increase Germany's energy reliance on Russia -- leverage the U.S. is not happy to cede to a geopolitical rival.
"My view on Nord Stream 2 has been known for some time, but good friends can disagree," Biden said.
The main concern of the U.S. and others is the possibility of Russia using energy as a means to coerce its European neighbors, and that circumventing Ukraine will devastate revenues on which the country relies from its own pipelines that supply Europe.
"Whether or not Europe energy security [and] Ukraine security are strengthened or weakened based on Russian actions, we'll see," Biden said.
The visit is Merkel's twelfth to the White House, where she has met with three other presidents during her 16-year tenure. She plans to step down after national elections in September.
Soon after his inauguration, Biden reversed Trump's plans to withdraw some of the 36,000 troops that are stationed in Germany, and told Merkel that he planned to revitalize the alliance with Germany.
Across the Atlantic, the number of Germans with a favorable view of the U.S. is up from 26% to 59% following Biden's election, according to the Pew Research Center, with 78% of Germans viewing Biden less favorably than Obama but higher than Trump.
Reporting by Jack Stone Truitt in New York.