Rice on vital visit

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive in Beijing today amid the heated presidential campaign in her country and some disturbing developments in the Taiwan Straits.

Rice has a very busy schedule in Beijing, holding talks with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi today. She flies to Japan tomorrow morning on the final stop of her Asia tour.

This could be Rice's last visit to Beijing, and offers a chance for high-level policymakers on both sides to address issues of mutual concern, ranging from Taiwan to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and from Kosovo declaring independence to Sudan.