Speaking at a Sino-US business roundtable, Xi (pictured), who is expected to succeed Hu Jintao as Communist Party chief next year and as president in 2013, stressed the need to restore confidence in global markets.

'China's economy is not heading for a hard landing,' Xi said, according to Xinhua, adding that he was confident China was capable of maintaining stable growth.

'The US economy has always been highly resilient and has a strong capacity for self-repair,' the vice-president continued. 'Therefore, we believe the US economy will achieve even greater development as it deals with its challenges.'

Analysts see Wen and Xi's upbeat remarks as an attempt to inject confidence into global markets gripped by recession fears amid stock slides in North America on Thursday, Asia yesterday and Europe last night.

'Vice-President Xi's emphasis on investor confidence shows that he, like politicians and policymakers almost everywhere, fears that the current crisis could spiral into another 2008 panic,' said Tim Condon, chief economist with ING Asia.

China is the largest foreign holder of US debt and Biden's visit came against a backdrop of intense Chinese criticism of Washington's handling of the US debt crisis.

'It's particularly important that you send a very clear message to the Chinese public that the United States will keep its word and its obligations with regard to its government debt,' Wen told Biden. 'It will preserve the safety, liquidity and value of US treasury bonds.'

Biden reassured Wen about the security of China's US bond holdings and said Washington 'appreciates and welcomes' Chinese investment.

Additional reporting by Teddy Ng