Biden reassures China U.S. is solvent

BEIJING, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Visiting China for the first time since becoming vice president, Joe Biden said he would work with Chinese leaders on ways to improve the global economy.

Biden met with China's Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai in Beijing, where he said China and the United States together should work at improving the global economy.

"Both China and the United States have showed the confidence in the fundamentals of their own economy, as well as pushing forward the recovery of the global economy," Cui said. "The two sides are facing numerous opportunities. But there are still issues that need to be handled properly. So it is necessary for us to establish more high-level exchanges, deepen mutual understanding and trust."

The White House said Biden also visited Chengdu, an industrial and manufacturing city of 14 million people.

China is the world's second-largest economy, after the United States. Biden's visit to China, which is the United States' largest foreign creditor, reassured investors America would rebound from the global economic malaise.

"We appreciate and welcome your concluding that the United States is such a safe haven, and we appreciate your investment in U.S. treasurys," Biden said in a Washington Post report Saturday. "And very sincerely, I want to make clear that you have nothing to worry about."