Vice President Joe Biden was on his way to his first Asia trip as a White House official on Tuesday, with plans to meet the Chinese Communist Party’s next anointed leader, enjoy Mongolian culture, and pay his respects to Japan, which is still recovering from the earthquake and tsunami that hit the island nation in March.
Biden, will spend four days in China, one in Mongolia, and two in Japan. The most significant point in the trip will be his meet-and-greet with high-level communist cadre Xi Jinping, who is expected to replace Hu Jintao as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party next year. Xi is also expected to reciprocate Biden’s visit at some point in the near future.
Tony Blinken, Biden’s national security adviser, said in a White House conference call with reporters that one of the purposes of the trip was to “get to know China’s future leadership.”
Getting to know Xi will likely include a discussion of the U.S.’s potential decision to sell its new F-16 C/D model fighter planes to Taiwan.
Even though China’s official mouthpiece Xinhua reported that Biden will, actually, “take this opportunity to explain the situation to China ahead of the sales,” National Security Council’s Senior Director for Asian Affairs Danny Russel said Biden is “not going to China to address that issue.” The U.S. government will make a final decision on that by Oct. 1.
Other conversation points might include a passing mention of human rights concerns, or the U.S. deficit reduction package.
On Thursday, Biden’s first full day in China, he will have two meetings with Xi in Beijing and a meeting with Wu Bangguo, chairman of Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, as well as a formal evening banquet hosted by Xi. On Friday, he will begin with a roundtable discussion with American and Chinese business leaders and finish with an afternoon meeting with Hu and Wen.
On Saturday, after spending some time with U.S. Embassy staff, including the new ambassador in China, Gary Locke, Biden will travel to the southwestern city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, known for its mercilessly spicy food.
Biden will have a full day of activities in Sichuan on Sunday, with meetings, dinners and speeches.
The vice president will journey to Mongolia on Monday, making it the first vice presidential trip to the country since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Vice President Henry Wallace’s Mongolia stop in 1944. He will then go on to Tokyo, before leaving to the United States on Aug. 24.
Biden, will spend four days in China, one in Mongolia, and two in Japan. The most significant point in the trip will be his meet-and-greet with high-level communist cadre Xi Jinping, who is expected to replace Hu Jintao as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party next year. Xi is also expected to reciprocate Biden’s visit at some point in the near future.
Tony Blinken, Biden’s national security adviser, said in a White House conference call with reporters that one of the purposes of the trip was to “get to know China’s future leadership.”
Getting to know Xi will likely include a discussion of the U.S.’s potential decision to sell its new F-16 C/D model fighter planes to Taiwan.
Even though China’s official mouthpiece Xinhua reported that Biden will, actually, “take this opportunity to explain the situation to China ahead of the sales,” National Security Council’s Senior Director for Asian Affairs Danny Russel said Biden is “not going to China to address that issue.” The U.S. government will make a final decision on that by Oct. 1.
Other conversation points might include a passing mention of human rights concerns, or the U.S. deficit reduction package.
On Thursday, Biden’s first full day in China, he will have two meetings with Xi in Beijing and a meeting with Wu Bangguo, chairman of Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, as well as a formal evening banquet hosted by Xi. On Friday, he will begin with a roundtable discussion with American and Chinese business leaders and finish with an afternoon meeting with Hu and Wen.
On Saturday, after spending some time with U.S. Embassy staff, including the new ambassador in China, Gary Locke, Biden will travel to the southwestern city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, known for its mercilessly spicy food.
Biden will have a full day of activities in Sichuan on Sunday, with meetings, dinners and speeches.
The vice president will journey to Mongolia on Monday, making it the first vice presidential trip to the country since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Vice President Henry Wallace’s Mongolia stop in 1944. He will then go on to Tokyo, before leaving to the United States on Aug. 24.
