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United States Vice-President Joe Biden arrived in Beijing late on Wednesday, along with his granddaughter in a bid to enhance mutual understanding between people in the two countries.

Stepping off his aircraft at Beijing Capital International Airport, the 68-year-old vice-president was greeted by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Instead of going to his hotel as scheduled, Biden and his delegation headed to the National Olympic Sports Center for a basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Shanxi Brave Dragons.

During the first China trip in his current position, Biden is scheduled to hold formal meetings with Vice-President Xi Jinping on Thursday and attend a meeting of China-US business leaders on Friday.

He will also meet President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao before being accompanied by Xi to Chengdu on Saturday, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, where the two will visit sites jolted by the deadly May 12, 2008, earthquake. Biden is also expected to deliver a speech at Sichuan University.

Ahead of his arrival in Beijing, Biden was trying to strike a positive tone for his visit, saying Chinese firms are encouraged to invest in the United States.

"We welcome and encourage Chinese companies investing abroad to look first at the US," Biden said in an interview with the People's Daily. "Foreign investors benefit from our open, transparent and non-discriminatory investment environment."

Biden said he and President Barack Obama are working on export restriction reforms to increase US competitiveness and stimulate US exports, he said in the interview published on Wednesday.

"We are determined to put US-China relations on a steady and sustainable track for the coming decades," Biden said.

Biden brought his granddaughter, who is learning Chinese, stressing in the interview the importance of enhancing mutual understanding between the people in the two countries.

Questions:

1. What US official is visiting China this week?

2. Why is he here?

3. Where will he go besides Beijing during his visit?

Answers:

1. Vice-President Joe Biden.

2. He is on a goodwill mission in a bid to enhance mutual understanding between people in the two countries.

3. Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.