PRESIDENT Xi Jinping left Beijing yesterday for his first state visit to the United States since becoming president in 2013, with negotiations between the two countries on many key sectors close to a successful outcome.

    The state visit, which ends Friday, takes Xi and first lady Peng Liyuan to Washington, D.C. and to the U.S. high-tech hub of Seattle, where Xi will reach out to a wide range of U.S. society including business leaders, students and local officials.

    He will also spend three days in New York City attending a series of summits at the United Nations headquarters marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the global body.

    Sources close to the arrangements said the two countries are likely to seal more than 40 agreements and deals, including a major one on climate change.

    Xi will deliver a major policy speech at a dinner for business leaders and other dignitaries Tuesday night local time, where many believe he will elaborate on Sino-U.S. ties.

    Xi and Obama will have a small-scale working dinner in Washington, D.C. tomorrow night before formal talks Friday.

    Jeffery A. Bader, former special assistant to the president of the United States for national security affairs, said: “[U.S. President Barack] Obama has developed a good personal relationship with Xi, having spent hours with him at Sunnylands [California], and more time with him on his visit to Beijing. So they have a good relationship already.”

    “I think it is important for the two presidents to make statements on their joint commitments to managing the economic relationship, jointly dealing with global economic turbulence, and working to stabilize and send a reassuring message to markets in both countries,” Bader said.

    Many observers believe Xi’s visit will help push for earlier completion of the marathon talks on the Bilateral Investment Treaty.

    The New York Times reported over the weekend that the United States and China are negotiating what could become the first arms control accord for cyberspace.

    This involves a commitment by each country that it will not be the first to use cyber weapons to cripple the other’s critical infrastructure during peacetime.

    In a written interview with the Wall Street Journal published ahead of his visit yesterday, Xi said China’s economy is still operating within the proper range, pledging to deepen reform on all fronts and open wider to the outside world.

    He dismissed that the Chinese Dream is an illusion or empty slogan and said that it is fundamentally about making life better for the Chinese people.

    He also said China will not change its policy on foreign investment and will continue to protect the lawful rights and interests of foreign companies in China.(Xinhua)

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