Let The Courtship Begin: Chinese Vice-President Makes Official Visit To Washington

By: EW News Desk Team   Date: 15 February 2012

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EconomyWatch, News Desk Team

 

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15 February 2012

Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping began his weeklong official visit to the United States yesterday, in a visit that could determine bilateral ties with the two powerful nations for the next decade.

In an indication of the clout and importance of the man himself, Xi arrived in Washington yesterday welcomed by a 19-gun salute and an honor guard of 325 troops from each branch of the United States military, a welcome never before bestowed upon a foreign vice president.

58-year-old Xi is largely touted as the man to succeed China’s president Hu Jintao, who must retire as the head of the Communist Party this year and from the presidency in 2013.

While it is not Xi’s first visit to the United States, his visit as the next-in-line could outline bilateral ties between the two largest economies in the world for the next decade.

Accompanied by a delegation of over 200 people including powerful business leaders, Xi is expected to hold discussions with U.S. politicians including President Barack Obama.

The two countries have strong differences and conflicting interests, and Xi can be expected to be pressed for answers on issues ranging from China’s human rights record, China’s military expansion in East Asia, currency and trade policies, and China’s recent UN veto on a Syrian resolution.

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Speaking to reporters, Xi stressed that his visit to Washington was in the interest of building relationships “based on mutual respect”, adding that he already had “candid exchanges” regarding human rights with US vice-president Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Of bilateral cooperation, Xi said that Sino-American relationship will grow through dialogue and not through protectionism.

Related News: China “Deeply Concerned” With US’s “Strong Tendency For Trade Protectionism”

Obama acknowledge and praised “China’s peaceful rise” but he also warned that China’s growing influence comes with heavy responsibilities:

With expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibility. We want to work with China to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system. That includes ensuring that there is a balanced trading flow not only between the United States and China but around the world.

The trade deficit between the two nations currently stands at $295 billion, with the imbalance a sore point of contention for the Americans.

Related News: Obama To Create Task Force That Monitor Chinese Trade Policies

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Calling for cooperation, Biden said:

We are not always going to see eye-to-eye and we are not always going to see things exactly the same, but we have very important economic and political concerns that warrant that we work together. Our bilateral relationship is the most important in the world.

Xi, who is the son of Xi Zhongxun, one of the Communist Party’s founding fathers, joined the Party in 1974, and currently sits also as vice-chair of the Central Military Commission. Should he be promoted to the chief of the Communist Party, his ties with the White House would determine the direction of global trade and security, until the next once-in-a-decade leadership rotation in China. 

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