BEIJING – A few hours after having laughed it up with workers in Tokyo, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden found himself in face-to-face meetings Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping over China’s controversial new air defense zone.
The China leg of Biden’s swing through Asia was supposed to be on how the two nations could cooperation on economic matters but China’s recent announcement that it controls the air space over the East China Sea, including island territories of Japan, made for a tense mood.
Biden was greeted with state-controlled press stories lashing out at the United States for standing with Japan to complain about the air defense zone that China says requires all aircraft passing through to notify it of their presence.
The announcement is the latest attempt by China’s Communist government to lay claim to nearly 1 million square miles of sea and all the energy and fishing resources it contains.
After five hours of meetings, a noticeably somber Biden told the assembled press that the U.S.-China relationship will significantly affect the course of the 21st century, and, done right, the possibilities are limitless.
“Candor generates trust,” Biden said of Xi’s “candid” attitude. “Trust is the basis on which real change – constructive change
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