U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House Wednesday for an official state visit aimed at shoring up bilateral ties to deter China’s aggressive moves in the Pacific region.

The two leaders will hold a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden after a closed-door meeting. They are expected to announce plans to revamp the U.S. military command structure in Japan, where 54,000 U.S. troops are stationed, with the goal of responding more quickly to a crisis.

Biden and Kishida are also expected to announce Japan’s participation in the U.S. space agency NASA’s Artemis lunar program, as well as cooperation on joint technology projects.

Biden and his wife, Jill, will host Kishida and his wife, Yuko, at a formal state dinner at the presidential mansion, including a performance by U.S. singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Kishida is the fifth foreign leader that Biden has welcomed for a state visit since taking office in 2021.

The diplomatic formalities are overshadowed by the proposed $14.1 billion sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, a deal that has become embroiled in protectionist campaign rhetoric ahead of the November U.S. presidential election.

Last month Biden announced his opposition to the deal, saying the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.” Former president Donald Trump, Biden’s likely Republican opponent in the November election, has promised to block the deal if he is elected again.

Kishida will take part in a trilateral summit Thursday with Biden and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines, and deliver a speech before a joint meeting of Congress. He will be just the second Japanese prime minister to address the U.S. legislature, following Shinzo Abe’s appearance in 2015.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.