Chinese President Xi Jinping has
sought to reassure US business leaders, in a wide-ranging speech
covering China's economic reforms and cyber crime.
Speaking in
Seattle at the start of his state visit to the US, Mr Xi said foreign
firms were welcome in China, and that Beijing would not manipulate its
currency to boost exports.
He also denied Beijing engages in hacking but said China would co-operate with Washington on the issue.
Both issues have led to strained ties.
Hacking
and economic reforms are expected to come up when Mr Xi meets his US
counterpart Barack Obama at the White House on Friday. James Cook, West Coast Correspondent, BBC News
Xi Jinping's speech at a banquet in Seattle was wide-ranging,
friendly and colourful, sprinkled with Chinese proverbs and references
to American culture. From Sleepless in Seattle to Walt Whitman, Mr Xi
lavished praise on the culture of his hosts.
He was particularly
taken, he said, with Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea which
follows a fisherman's epic struggle to land a huge marlin.
The
president talked about China's struggles too, giving a personal account
of his tough teenage years working with peasants in a poor village,
with no meat to eat for months on end.
Now the village had an
internet connection, as well as plentiful meat, he said. It was a subtle
rebuke to rich Westerners who criticise China's rise, reminding them
where his country is rising from.
Pointedly for an American
audience, he referred to the Chinese Dream which was linked, he said, to
his people's yearning for a better life. When pop met political: Sleepless in Seattle and other things about Xi's speech
Ahead
of Mr Xi's visit, business leaders had re-iterated the difficulties US
firms have operating in China and the deteriorating outlook for the
economy.
China's economy, which has grown rapidly in recent years,
is beginning to slow, causing global concern about a fall in demand for
global goods. Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Mr Xi's visit was also marked by protests by
practitioners of Falun Gong, a religious movement banned in China, who
were met with pro-Beijing counter-protests
Recent dramatic losses on the Chinese stock markets,
despite government interventions, have led to questions over how well
the government is managing the slowdown.
But Mr Xi told a dinner
meeting of business leaders on Tuesday night that ensuring robust
international trade was a top priority for China.
"China will never close its open door to the outside world," Mr Xi said in Chinese.
He called for "more understanding and trust" between the US and China, and "less estrangement and suspicion".
"Should
they enter into conflict and confrontation, it would lead to disaster
for both countries and the world at large," he said.
Media captionLaura Galante: The United states and China have to decide on "the international rules they want to play by"
The
US has recently alleged that the Chinese state was behind a massive
data security breach of government databases as well as attacks on
private firms.
But Mr Xi said China was "a strong defender of cyber security" as well as a "victim of hacking".
"The
Chinese government will not, in whatever form, engage in commercial
thefts or encourage or support such attempts by anyone," he said.
"Both
commercial cyber theft and hacking against a government's networks are
crimes that must be punished in accordance with law and relevant
international treaties." Image copyrightGetty Images
Hack attacks - Does China's government hack US companies?
Mr Xi is meeting a number of
prominent business and technology leaders during his time in the US, and
will be visiting the major Boeing aeroplane construction site in
Everett, Washington state.
Image copyrightAPImage caption
Mr Xi will also visit Boeing's assembly line in Everett, a suburb north of Seattle
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on
Wednesday that Boeing has signed deals to supply 300 jets to Chinese
airlines and leasing firms during the visit.
It also signed an agreement with a Chinese state-owned company to set up a completion centre for Boeing 737 planes, said Xinhua.
Mr
Xi will be hosted at the White House for a state dinner on 25
September, and is due to give a speech to the UN General Assembly in New
York on 28 September.
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