Joe Biden's visit more than a courtesy call

(Xinhua)

08:49, August 19, 2011

UNDER the shadow of US debt and noises about arms sales to Taiwan, US Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in China for a six-day visit, through next Monday.

Chinese analysts expect Biden's China tour, which began yesterday, to add to the momentum started by President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States early this year.

During Hu's US visit in January, both countries committed to building a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and benefits. Hu's visit to the United States got bilateral ties back on track and triggered a number of interactions between high-ranking officials from the world's two largest economies.

Now, the question is: will Biden's six-day visit to China erect a sea wall for bilateral ties so they can't be badly impacted by the looming election campaign in the United States?

History shows that China-related issues are easy targets for US politicians from both political parties and the bilateral relationship tends to fall prey to their mud-slinging. The issue of US arms sales to Taiwan is a tool often used by some lawmakers to make noises and catch attention.

The 2012 general election will likely be no exception. Some US lawmakers have started lobbying and pressuring the Obama administration to sell F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. Media reports say that the US government will announce its decision by October 1.

"As a renowned US statesman, Biden is clear about the Taiwan issue as well as the bilateral ties between China and the United States," said Yuan Peng, a scholar with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Biden was elected as senator for the first time in 1972 and visited China in 1979 and 2001. Biden arrived in Beijing yesterday, coincidentally the 29th anniversary of signing of the "August 17 Communique." 

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