Biden to witness economic boom in China's Sichuan

BEIJING: US Vice President Joe Biden comes face to face with China's economic boom Saturday after Chinese leaders expressed confidence in a flagging American economy dependent on credit from the Asian giant.

Biden was scheduled to depart Beijing for Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, where nearly 200 of the Fortune 500 largest firms in the world have invested.

But human rights activists said a heavy-handed crackdown had been imposed on dissent to co-incide with his trip to China.

In Chengdu, a city of 14 million people, the US vice president will share an informal meal with his counterpart Xi Jinping -- who is slated to become China's top leader next year -- and address students at Sichuan University.

He will also witness reconstruction efforts following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which left over 87,000 people dead or missing, while seeing the economic boom in Chengdu.

In a Friday meeting with Biden, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed confidence in the US economy after the historic downgrade of the United States' top-notch credit rating earlier this month.

China is the largest foreign holder of US debt, and Biden has used his first official visit to the Asian nation since becoming vice president to reassure the country's leaders their investment remains safe.

"In spite of the difficulties facing the US economy at present, I have full confidence that the United States will overcome these difficulties and get its economy back on the track of healthy growth," Wen told Biden.

"It is important that you've sent a very clear message to the Chinese public that the United States will keep its word and obligations with regard to its government debt."

China and the United States have signed deals worth nearly $1 billion during Biden's trip, according to a US official who requested anonymity.

His visit is aimed partly at building ties with Xi, who remains virtually unknown in US policy circles, and also comes amid growing concern in the United States about China's rights record.

Washington this week appealed to Beijing to free prominent rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has defended some of China's most vulnerable people including Christians and coal miners, and has not been heard of since last year.

But police have stepped up surveillance on dissidents and warned them against making any high profile protests or attempting to meet Biden during his five-day visit, rights activists said.

"The Chinese government has been pulling out all the stops to intimidate any and all dissidents, human rights lawyers and social activists from taking any high profile actions," Phelim Kine, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

"The word has gone out that they should keep a very low profile... and that any attempt at such a meeting (with Biden) would carry reprisals."

Biden did raise human rights concerns during his meetings with Chinese leaders, US officials said, but they refused to go into details of whether any individual cases were brought up.

"Yesterday (Friday), state security police began following me," Li Yu, a democracy activist and outspoken blogger in Sichuan province, told AFP.

"I don't know why they are following me, but I can't help to think that it is because the US vice president is visiting."

Li said other political activists in Sichuan were facing similar police surveillance.

Meanwhile prominent human rights lawyers Teng Biao and Liu Xiaoyuan declined to comment to AFP on Biden's visit, saying they had been told by the authorities not to accept interviews with foreign media.

Following Biden's stop-over in Sichuan, he will visit Mongolia and close US ally Japan.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011