2015年CRI US Observers Hail Benefits of President Xi's Visit to Local Economy

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This is the Chinese president's first state visit to the US since taking office in 2012.

Xi Jinping has met with local political leaders and made a key policy speech and is scheduled to meet with business leaders and visit a school in Tacoma city.

He is also set to hold talks with top business executives, including the CEOs of Apple, Microsoft and IBM.

Despite different views on some issues between the world's largest developing and developed country, China and the US have witnessed strong economic ties. They have also successfully cooperated on several key global issues, including climate change and the Iran nuclear negotiations¹.

Securing business deals is high on the agenda for the Chinese president's stop in Washington state. Sources close to the arrangements say the two countries are likely to seal more than 40 agreements during his entire trip, including a major climate change deal.

Former US ambassador to China Gary Locke says he expects several business deals to be sealed during President Xi's visit that will benefit the two sides, particularly Washington state.

"There is gonna be an agreement signed with one of the new Chinese companies, establishing a methanol production facility in long view area which is gonna employ thousands of workers permanently². There is a joint-effort to develop the next generation of nuclear power. That is a Washington state company. There will be an agreement signed there."

Locke also says these projects will boost job creation and exports to China, as well as attracting more Chinese companies to the region.

Washington state sends a quarter of all of its exports to China.

Trade between the two countries reached to an all-time high of some 550 billion U.S. dollars last year, with bilateral³ investment surpassing 120 billion.

It is estimated that by 2022, China and the US will become each other's biggest trading partner.

Veteran journalist Sidney Rittenberg says mutual⁴ trust is the most important thing in nurturing⁵ the bilateral relations between the two countries.

"When people in the two governments dealing⁶ with each other can develop a certain amount of trust, not suspect motive⁷ of the other side, things were very well. When it is based on speculation⁸ about what is in the mind of the leaders on the other side, then we got into trouble."

The Chinese president also has a personal connection with the state. In 1994, he signed a sister-city agreement between Tacoma and the capital of southeastern China's Fujian province, Fuzhou, where he served as city leader.