Pool photo by Lintao Zhang
Joe Biden’s gaffes are apparently known all around the world. The vice president arrived in Beijing on Wednesday amid tensions over China’s new air-defense zone—and the country’s state-run media warned him not to make any “erroneous remarks.” Nice. While in Tokyo this week, Biden said he would address Beijing’s new policy with “great specificity” during his trip. Last month, China declared a new Air Defense Identification Zone, which included several Japanese islands, and said all land within that zone must follow Chinese laws. On Friday, China scrambled fighter jets to monitor U.S. and Japanese planes flying in the region. The state-run newspaper China Daily claimed Biden had “obviously taken Japan’s side,” although several papers did emphasize that Biden had not issued a joint statement with Japan about the zone.