The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
On Day Two of his stay in China, the Vice President and his counterpart, Vice President Xi of China, participated in a roundtable discussion with U.S. and Chinese business leaders.
Vice President Joe Biden joined Chinese Vice President Xi and business leaders from both countries at a roundtable today in Beijing to discuss the business relationship between both countries. The Vice President reflected on the changes that have taken place since his first trip to the country more than 30 years ago, when he was part of the first Senate delegation that met withDeng Xiaoping, and expressed his great optimism about what the next 30 years hold. He also addressed the “real and perceived barriers that exist in both countries that have to be dealt with” and praised the “straightforward” conversations he has had with Vice President Xi throughout this visit.
“You have legitimate concerns about access to America. And I would argue we have legitimate concerns in reverse. But the trajectory -- the trajectory of the relationship is nothing but positive, and it’s overwhelmingly in the mutual interest of both our countries. And it’s presumptuous to say this, but I think it’s in the interest of the world. It’s in the interest of the world that we increase -- increase -- the interaction between not only our business community, but our economies writ large.
Obviously, economic issues have been a particular focus of the growing cooperation between the United States and China. Our governments are committed to and working hard to promote economic growth. It’s strong. It’s sustainable, and it is balanced, fair and open. Bilateral trade and investment between the United States and China, as is pointed out, is growing rapidly in both directions. We’d like it to go even more rapidly in terms of investment in the United States because it creates jobs and it creates economic opportunities in both countries.
