Politics. On Point.

Vice President Joe Biden has departed for Beijing, China, the first stop on a nine-day trip to China, Mongolia, and Japan. In each country, the Vice President will meet with key leaders to discuss the full range of bilateral, regional, and international issues.  The Vice President is visiting China at the invitation of Vice President Xi Jinping – the first of the planned reciprocal visits between the Vice Presidents announced by President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao during his state visit to Washington earlier this year.  While in Beijing, the Vice President will meet with Vice President Xi and other Chinese leaders, including President Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao.  The Vice President will also visit the city of Chengdu, in China’s Southwest.  On Sunday, August 21st at 10:30 AM LOCAL TIME/Saturday, August 20th at 10:30 PM ET, the Vice President will deliver a speech on U.S.-China relations at Sichuan University. In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, the Vice Presiden...

President Obama made an unnounced visit to the Embassy of Japan today where he signed a condolence book. In it he wrote: "My heart goes out to the people of Japan during this enormous tragedy. Please know that America will always stand by one of its greatest allies during this time of need. Because of the strength and wisdom of its people, we know that Japan will recover, and indeed will emerge stronger than ever. And as it recovers, the memory of those who have been lost will remain in our hearts, and will serve only to strengthen the relationship between our two countries. May God bless the people of Japan." He signed his name and wrote "March 2011" after his signature. He announced that the gesture was to to communicate how "heartbroken," America is over the tragedy. An 8.9 magnitude earthquake with aftershocks hit off the coast of Japan on March 11 at 2:46pm JST, setting off a devastating tsunami reaching miles inland. "We are doing eve...