Biden welcomes Japan Prime Minister to White House as he tries to rally allies to counter China

Tokyo — President Joe Biden's first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader was set to take place in Washington on Friday, as he sits down with Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Their talks were likely to cover climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and North Korea. But China was also expected to figure prominently in the discussions, as the U.S. seeks to enlist allies in confronting Beijing's military expansion and human rights abuses.

It's been a wild ride for global apparel brands like H&M, Nike, Gap and other popular retailers. The companies have faced a major blowback from consumers in China after calling out alleged Chinese repression of the country's Uighur minority in the northwest region of Xinjiang. "Our patriotism has been sparked," said one Chinese man of the backlash. "People are taking this opportunity to express their love for the nation."