US will never default, Vice-President Biden tells China



US Vice-President Joe Biden speaks at at Sichuan University in Chengdu. Photo: 21 August 2011

Mr Biden's visit is aimed at boosting China's confidence in the US economy



United States Vice-President Joe Biden, who is visiting China, has said the US would never default on its debt.

In a speech on the last day of his visit, he reiterated that China's large holdings of dollar assets were safe.




His trip comes amid mounting tension between the two over America's debt.




Chinese officials have criticised the political row in the US
over raising its borrowing ceiling, and expressed concern over the
recent downgrade of the country's credit rating.




"You're safe," Mr Biden told university students in the
south-western town of Chengdua, in answer to a question about
Washington's ability to repay its debt.




"Please understand that no-one cares more about this than we do, since Americans own 87% of all our financial assets."




"We have an overarching interest in protecting the
investment, while the United States has never defaulted and never will
default."




China is the American government's biggest foreign creditor -
holding $1tn (£608bn) of US debt - and has called on the country to do
more to reduce its budget deficit.




Earlier this month, the US suffered a historic credit downgrade by rating agency Standard & Poor's.




Analysts say China is clearly worried about its holding, and
about criticism at home for having so much of the country's savings in
US investments.




In his Sunday's speech to , Mr Biden also called the rise of
China as a global power a positive development for the US and the world
as a whole.




And in a reference to human rights, he remarked that Beijing
should cherish an exchange between citizens, students and their
government.




Mr Biden's five-day visit was overshadowed by a brawl at an exhibition basketball game between a US and a Chinese team.


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