China’s Xi says government does not hack

According to a report by AFP on Tuesday, Xi is expected to explain the objectives of his visit in meetings and a keynote speech to leaders of states like Washington and with the heads of major companies, which have huge interests in China such as Boeing and Microsoft.

Chinese officials have signalled that key topics during the state visit include trade and business ties, geopolitics, climate change, terrorism and cyber security.

“These are the largest economies in the world, and we’re the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, so improving cooperation and collaboration is really a necessity”, said Brian Young, Washington state’s director of economic development for the clean technology sector.

But many average Chinese are unfamiliar with the area aside from its role in “Sleepless in Seattle”, the 1993 romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. But first, he’ll meet with the CEOs of America’s top companies.

And after years of antagonistic rhetoric from both sides, there’s now an opportunity for detente.

He and President Obama will have much to discuss, including economics, trade, human rights and China’s territorial ambitions.

The director of the Carter Centre’s China programme, Mr Liu Yawei, said “images of Deng kissing American children…in Washington moved many people, dissolving fears over a perceived communist threat”.

When Scott Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin, recently suggested Xi be denied a full state visit – with its symbolic recognition of China as an equal partner – he was shot down by his own party. The company is reportedly plotting a return to the mainland, hoping to launch a modified version of the Android Play Store in China this fall.

Rice accused China of unjustly detaining 2010 Nobel Peace Prize victor Liu Xiaobo and other political prisoners and said Chinese restrictions on the freedoms of expression and assembly are both “wrong” and “short-sighted”.

The US and China are considering safeguards, such as communications protocols that keep their air forces from clashing accidentally, to prevent worst-case scenarios. Some reckon the two powers may also agree to a no-first-use policy for cyberattacks. He also emphasised that military-to-military exchanges would be an important issue. China has staked its national prestige and its leadership’s nationalist credentials on this issue, which means that Xi is likely to rebuff United States demands that China cease all activities seen as militarizing its new artificial islands in disputed waters.

Xi reiterated that there is no basis for continued yuan depreciation.

Many protesters who turned out Tuesday are affiliated with the religious group Falun Gong, which says it is persecuted in China.

It is believed that this topic will dominate the upcoming meeting between Xi and US President Barack Obama later this week, and it’s not a new topic between the duo.