Biden hosts Merkel at White House to renew U.S.-German ties frayed under Trump

WASHINGTON- President Joe Biden welcomed outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House on Thursday to discuss disagreements over Russia and China as the two leaders seek to strengthen a relationship that suffered under former President Donald Trump.

The United States and Germany are key NATO allies. Biden and Merkel have known and worked with each other for years. But their two governments are at odds over a host of tough issues including the Nord Stream 2 pipeline being built from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, which Washington fears will hurt Ukraine and increase European reliance on Russian gas.