On February 14, 2012, Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai held a briefing for Chinese and foreign media in Washington DC to introduce the main activities and significance of Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to the US. He also answered questions of journalists on the strategic mutual trust and economic and trade relations between China and the US, the Syrian issue and the Iranian nuclear issue.

Around 60 journalists of nearly 40 Chinese and foreign media attended the briefing, including People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Radio International, China News Service, China Daily, the Phoenix TV, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, AFP, NHK and TV Asahi.