The leaders agreed that humans should control decisions to use nuclear weapons — not AI. And they talked about the importance of stability during the transition to a new U.S. administration.

President Biden used to tell world leaders "America is back," implying the Trump era's go-it-alone ethos was a one-term blip. But Biden needs a new line for this week's APEC and G20 summits.

Voter concern about the rise of China has spiked. But it's unlikely that foreign policy issues will outweigh domestic issues to drive decisions at the polls a year from now.