Biden visit a welcome change

China is gearing up to welcome US Vice-President Joseph Biden to Beijing on Aug 17. As the White House explained, Biden will meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese officials, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiaobao, "to consult on a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues". The White House, however, did not provide details about the nature of the talks.

What will be the topics of the discussions? Is there hope for major improvement in Sino-US relations? As with any high-profile diplomatic initiative, many questions have been raised.

Although specifics have not been provided, observers speculate that the issues to be discussed would include the global economic turmoil, the South China Sea disputes and US arms sales to Taiwan. A wide range of pressing international problems, including terrorism, global warming, environmental degradation and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, to name just a few, could also find their way into the talks.