Biden visits China amid US debt crisis

US vice president Joe Biden (file photo)

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194394.html

Vice president Joe Biden has arrived in Beijing in an attempt to restore China's lost confidence on US economy, amid concerns over the US ability to manage its debt and deficits.

Biden will meet with top Chinese leaders including President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-President Xi Jinping.

China is the largest foreign holder of the US debt wanting USD 1.2 trillion.

Biden tries to reassure Chinese government that US is committed to tackling its financial challenges, and also outlining the aspects of debt reduction plan agreed by congress.

Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama voted in favor of a bipartisan plan to raise the debt ceiling of the United States in exchange for spending cuts, just hours before the first ever government default in US history.

China's state news outlet reflected Beijing's dismay at the US debt crisis in a highly critical commentary, calling the US "addiction to debt" irresponsible and demanding that America live within its means.

Moreover, Dagong Global Credit Rating Company, China's top ratings agency, slashed the US credit rating from A+ to A, following a US credit downgrade by Standard and poor's, one of the world's major credit rating agencies.

Chinese state-run media have criticized the US handling of its debt crisis, calling it irresponsible.

Biden's trip to China is the first by a high-level US official since the start of the US economic crisis