Biden Makes a Habit of Dissing Chinese Innovation

Joe Biden on May 28 at the graduation ceremony for the United States Air Force Academy class of 2014 in Colorado SpringsPhotograph by Michael Ciaglo/The Colorado Springs Gazette via AP Photo
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It’s starting to look like a habit: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden once again has vented on China, this time while giving the commencement address on Wednesday to nearly 1,000 cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

While heralding American ingenuity, the vice president said that China, by contrast, had not developed “one innovative project, one innovative change, one innovative product.” How did the straight-shooting—or notoriously gaffe-prone, to the less charitable—politician come to dissing China’s creative prowess this time? He started by giving a shout-out to American enterprise.