Biden: 'Name one innovative product' from China
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Posted by
CNN's Ashley Killough
(CNN) - Vice President Joe Biden blasted China on Wednesday in a speech
about foreign policy, arguing the country hasn't produced anything
innovative.
"China-and it's true - is graduating six to eight times as many scientists
and engineers as we have. But I challenge you, name me one innovative
project, one innovative change, one innovative product that has come out of
China," the vice president said forcefully.
His comments came in a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs. The vice president stressed that the country's record
on human rights has stymied its progress on other fronts, like innovation.
Biden recalled that during the 90s, there was growing concern Japan would
become a major threat and economic competitor–"that Japan was the future,"
he said.
No longer just a factory, China is a mobile leader
Then, he said, people started saying the same thing about China. That's when
he made his remark that even though China is producing more scientists,
they aren't producing innovative products.
"And I want Japan to succeed as I do China," he continued. "But give me a
break."
The vice president has argued in the past that China struggles with
innovation.
Why China isn't an innovation powerhouse
When he visited the country in December, he urged young students at the U.S.
Embassy in Beijing to challenge the status quo, saying "innovation can only
occur where you can breathe free."
It's an argument he has brought to Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well.
"Everyone who made their way to America in the first instance came because
their human rights were not being totally valued," Biden said he told the
Chinese president. "It's stamped into the DNA of America."
China as an innovation nation
He has also talked about what he sees as a lack of Chinese innovation during
trips to Iowa in 2012. At Iowa State University, he told students that
China is "not innovating."
Other themes from Biden's speech Wednesday echoed President Obama's same-day
address on foreign policy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Biden teams up with top donor to raise big bucks
As the combat mission in Afghanistan comes to a close, Biden told the
graduates that they're still entering a world of obstacles.
"As we end an era of war, your mission may be different, but you will face
challenges no less formidable and complex. Your work will be every bit as
vital and we badly need you," he said.
"The poet Thoreau said, 'A bluebird carries the whole sky on his back.' Well
you are Falcons, and you carry America on your back," he continued. "You
carry America on your back. And America will have your back forever."
