Dear Zhenying,

Comedian Joe Wong（Huang Xi 黄西）is a Chinese immigrant. He first found success as a biochemist for a major pharmaceutical firm, but is now makes headlines telling jokes. He’ll be on the

Joe Wong（CSPAN）, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden（White House Photo）

David Letterman show on September 1. Wong told one of his favorite jokes at last year’s Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner. He said that he and his wife hope their son will grow up to be president of the U.S. When the boy asked why he had to learn two languages, Wong says he told him that when he is president he’ll need to sign legislation in English and speak to debt collectors in Chinese.

Vice President Joe Biden was the guest of honor at that event. He’s now in Beijing. He dropped into the Olympic Center to talk to the Georgetown University team before their game with the Shanxi Dragons（the Hoyas defeated the Dragons, a pro team, 98-81）. Biden met today with Xi Jinping（习近平）China’s Vice President, and other leaders. Most analysts expect Xi to be elevated to Communist Party General Secretary in late 2012 and to be made President in early 2013.

We’re told that the vice presidents had a cordial exchange of views. In public remarks before their meeting, Xi said, "China and the United States have ever-more extensive common interests and we shoulder ever-more important common responsibilities.” Biden said, "I am absolutely confident that the economic stability of the world rests in no small part on cooperation between the United States and China.” Foreign reporters didn’t get to hear all of Biden’s remarks, however, as they were shoved from the room a few minutes before Biden concluded. No explanation has been given.

Elsewhere in Beijing, things were even rougher. The Georgetown team played its second game in

Georgetown`s goodwill tour interrupted by a brawl with the Bayi（Army）team. Video here.

Beijing against the Bayi（Army）team. There was considerable contact and tough talk from the outset and benches emptied at one point. Then, with the score tied and nine minutes to play, a hard foul triggered a brawl in which chairs were thrown. Georgetown coach John Thompson pulled his team from the court as fans pelted them with debris. Thompson subsequently wrote, " We sincerely regret that this situation occurred. We remain grateful for the opportunity our student-athletes are having to engage in a sport they love here in China, while strengthening their understanding of a nation we respect and admire at Georgetown University."

The Biden visit comes after a U.S. rating agency downgraded U.S. government debt and after a tumultuous week for U.S. stock markets. Biden will be questioned about Taiwan’s request to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the U.S. and about administration plans to shore up the U.S. economy. Domestic political concerns as well as diplomatic worries weigh heavily on both governments. Some Chinese, including a few military officers, have called for China’s government to sell its holdings of American debt. These commentators argue China is needlessly making a risky bet and helping the U.S. Some insisted that selling the debt would punish the U.S. for supporting Taiwan’s government.

The U.S. is expected to announce some sort of arms sale to Taiwan this fall. That will antagonize Beijing and there will be protests and possibly sanctions. The U.S. has been eager to strengthen military to military exchanges and the past year has seen reciprocal visits by top defense officials. In 2010, when the U.S. last sent arms to Taiwan, Beijing suspended high level exchanges. Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou is pushing for the sales to bolster his January re-election chances. There’s a U.S. domestic politics angle as well. Forty-five senators have called on the Obama administration to sell Taiwan the fighters, arguing it boosts regional peace, fulfills the Taiwan Relations Act, and keeps U.S. defense workers employed. Sen. John Cronyn blocked the confirmation of William Burns as Deputy Secretary of State until he secured a pledge from Sec. of State Hillary Clinton that a report on Taiwan’s air defense would be released and a decision made on Taiwan’s arms request. Cronyn represents Texas, the state where the F-16s would be assembled.

Though China’s top leaders have occasionally expressed “concern” about how the U.S. government’s fiscal problems could impact its ability to pay its creditors, China’s government has continued to invest in the U.S. and has encouraged Chinese companies to seek opportunities here as well.

Why? Investing in U.S. debt has provided the Chinese government a secure and steady return. That investment now totals $1.2 trillion. Over the first seven months of 2011, China’s government has made about $21 billion on its big bet. Because China’s companies continue to bring in dollars through exports（up 20% in July from a year ago）and because those dollars must be mostly converted into yuan when deposited in Chinese banks, China’s government needs to find dollar-denominated investments for the money. Its money managers have been investing elsewhere as well, but purchasing U.S. debt is easy and safe. So it continues.

Top image from RNC ad, bottom image from Mark Amodei ad. Watch them at the USCI website.

At the same time, many Americans worry that China holds too much U.S. government debt. These worries are misplaced. First, China is only the largest foreign holder of American debt. Most U.S. debt is held by Americans and their institutions. China’s holdings amount to about 8% of the total U.S. government debt. Second, China’s purchases and those of the Japanese and others have helped keep U.S. interest rates and inflation down. That said, heavy debt can limit the choices available to leaders.

Several new campaign ads seek to tap into the unease some feel about China’s economic rise and its debt holdings. One from the Republican National Committee has been airing in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Iowa. It features a young girl watching a 2017 newscast showing China’s holdings of U.S. debt rising, Chinese clapping as Chinese President Hu Jintao bows, and a new anchor saying “some analysts believe the Chinese have overtaken the United States” during President Obama’s “eight years in office.”

As part of our longstanding attention to the place of China in American politics, Talking Points monitors such ads（click here and here to see ads from the November 2010 election）. Our latest compilation includes four ads. The first is a 2008 Barack Obama advertisement attacking John McCain for supporting measures that “sent jobs to China.” The next three are ads released in the past two months：the RNC ad mentioned above, one from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and one from Republican Mark Amodei who is running for a House seat from Nevada. Click here to see these ads at the USCI website.

Students move into USC residence halls. Photos by Craig Stubing.

Students moved into USC’s residence halls this week. Classes start on Monday. USC has more international students than any other university and students from China now represent the single largest contingent. In 2010-11, USC enrolled 1,951 students from China, 203 from Hong Kong/Macau, and 471 from Taiwan. Most of these are enrolled in graduate programs. These USC trends mirror national ones. China passed India as the number one supplier of foreign students to the US in 2009.

Click here to see a larger chart at the USCI website.

Unfortunately, the number of U.S. students traveling to China to study remains relatively low. In 2009-2010, 127,628 students from China were studying in the U.S. Only about one-sixth that many Americans were studying in China. Pres. Obama’s “100k Strong” is an effort to encourage the private sector to support programs to get more American students to China. Catepillar and Coca Cola are among the companies that have signed on. Rapper will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas is the latest recruit to the effort.