In a blow to his goal of “promoting summit diplomacy” in 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will have to settle for virtual talks with U.S. President Joe Biden instead of an in-person meeting this month.

Kishida and Biden will hold an online meeting on Friday, the White House announced Monday, as the two allies look to deepen ties in the face of China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

Kishida had initially pushed for an in-person meeting with Biden before the opening of parliament’s regular session Monday. The spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus in both countries, however, effectively dashed those hopes.

The U.S. confirmed over 787,000 new cases on Friday and Japan reported over 25,000 new infections on Sunday as omicron takes hold in both countries.

Friday’s talks “will highlight the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance, which is the cornerstone of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific and around the world,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Biden “looks forward to working with Prime Minister Kishida to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific” and partnering on new and emerging tech, including through "the Quad," which groups Japan, the U.S., India and Australia, the statement said.

The two leaders were also planning to discuss cooperation in combating the ongoing spread of COVID-19 as well as climate change, the U.S. side said.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said during a news conference he expects the two leaders to stress the importance of a stronger Japan-U.S. alliance as the two work toward realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region. North Korea's recent spate of missile launches — including the firing of two apparent ballistic missiles Monday — was also expected to be discussed during the online meeting.

Matsuno also noted that Kishida and Biden would discuss issues of global concern, including efforts to create a world without nuclear weapons.

"We hope the first virtual meeting in 2022 between the two leaders will serve as an occasion to show the world the unwavering bond under the Japan-U.S. alliance and take it to a higher level," Matsuno said.

Kishida used his final official news conference of last year to outline his goal of making 2022 “a year of actively promoting summit diplomacy.” But whether he’ll be able to follow through remains unclear as omicron continues to push COVID-19 caseloads in both countries to fresh highs.

Kishida has called an in-person summit with Biden in the near term “extremely important” as he seeks to “foster a personal relationship of trust.” The prime minister told reporters at the Dec. 21 news conference that he also hopes to use the talks to further strengthen the alliance’s “deterrence and response capabilities” and to take cooperation “to a new level” toward realizing a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Those remarks were widely seen as not only meant for the U.S., but also China, which has ramped-up moves near the Japanese-controlled, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands and sent scores of warplanes for sorties near self-ruled Taiwan, stoking fears of a military conflict.

Kishida and Biden last met on the sidelines of U.N. climate talks in Scotland in November and held a phone call a month before that, shortly after Kishida’s election as prime minister.