On his first trip to East Asia as a White House official, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday morning met with Communist Party official Xi Jinping, expected to succeed Hu Jintao as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party late next year.
The visit takes place amidst a climate of high-handed suppression against writers and dissidents in China, a more aggressive stance taken by the Chinese regime in the South China Sea, and evidence that the communist regime has been engaged in a years-long campaign of staggering proportions to steal billions of dollars in intellectual property from an array of U.S. and international businesses through persistent cyberespionage.
It is unclear how much of that was on the agenda and how prominently. In an off-record meeting that lasted 45 minutes overtime at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Biden and Xi talked about an array of issues, from job creation and the exchange rate, to human rights and Tibet. They also touched on the United States’ arms sales to Taiwan, but didn’t mention cyberattacks or the regime’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea.
“This is just day one, and so we’re looking forward to spending time with [Xi] over the next several days in both formal and informal settings,” a senior Obama administration official told reporters.
After meeting with Xi, Biden met with other communist apparatchiks during the day and ate with them in the evening.
On Friday morning, Biden will lead roundtable discussion with U.S. and Chinese business leaders, followed by separate meetings with Premier Wen Jiabao and head of the CCP Hu Jintao in the afternoon.
After spending four full days in China, the vice president will make a short stop in Mongolia and spend two days in Japan.
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