Biden's China visit

US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Asia on Wednesday. The bulk of his five-day trip will be spent in China. His trip follows an invitation by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who is slated to take over as China's leader in 2013.

His visit comes as there has been simmering tension between the two countries over debt, deficits and currency. During his three days, Biden is due to meet President Hu Jintao, as well as Xi Jinping, with whom he will travel, and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

The trip is being seen as a means of getting to know the next generation of leaders in China. He will also become more acquainted with the business environment, by visiting the prosperous southwestern town of Chengdu for example.

"Simply put, we are investing in the future of the US-China relationship," Tony Blinken, adviser to the vice president, said.

'Addicted to debt'

Just last week, the Chinese state-run media published a scathing criticism of the US debt deal, saying that the US was "addicted to debt." China is the largest foreign holder of US debt.

For its part, the US has defended the debt deal with Lael Brainard, US Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs saying it was "very strong." She pointed out that China also needed to implement reforms in its financial system, adding that the yuan remained "substantially undervalued." Biden is expected to press Chinese leaders on the issue.

"Chinese policymakers know that they can no longer count on the US customer to provide that demand to the global economy," Brainard said. "They've got tremendous capacity to help bolster global growth by switching to a domestic demand-led strategy."

Locking horns over human rights

Another matter that has exacerbated tension recently is the proposed sale of 66 US Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to Japan. Prior to Biden's trip, the US State Department said that no final decision over the sale had been made and stated that the vice president was not expected to raise the issue. However, China, which has warned that the sale of arms to Taiwan will ignite tensions with the US, is likely to mention the matter.

Another source of conflict could be human rights but the White House has insisted that Joe Biden will not shy away from the issue. "The protection of human rights globally is a central part of President Obama’s foreign policy," said Danny Russell, a senior White House advisor on Asia. "As we do consistently, we will raise our concerns about the human rights situation throughout China," he said.

Last month, shortly after US President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama, Xi Jinping visited Tibet and vowed to crush the Tibetan spiritual leader’s "separatist activities."

After China, Joe Biden will travel onto Japan where he will visit the regions affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March. The last stop on his Asia tour will be Mongolia - he will become the first US vice president to visit the country since 1944.

Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Anne Thomas