The itinerary
Details of Xi Jinping’s trip are emerging slowly through the media
| Date | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 22 | President Xi Jinping is expected to arrive in Seattle on Tuesday | |
| Xi will meet Washington state officials at the Westin Seattle Hotel, where six Chinese governors will meet five US governors to discuss collaborating on clean technologies and economic development in the Third US-China Governors' Forum | Associated Press | |
| Xi will attend a banquet in the evening at the Westin Seattle hotel and give his only policy speech of the trip. The banquet will be attended by dignitaries such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger | Seattle Times | |
| Sept. 23 | Xi will also attend talks hosted by the Paulson Institute at the hotel with 30 business leaders from China and the US, who are expected to discuss increased market access and give their views on China's economic-reform efforts | SCMP |
| Xi will visit Boeing's Everett assembly line, in a suburb north of Seattle. Might be the prelude to Boeing's first jet completion and delivery centre outside the US | Seattle Times | |
| Xi will attend the two-day US-China Internet Industry Forum with chief executives of US and Chinese tech companies at the Microsoft campus. China's internet tsar Lu Wei will also attend. | New York Times | |
| Xi will visit the Lincoln High School in Tacoma with his wife Peng Liyuan. Tacoma and Fuzhou, the capital of China’s Fujian province, established a sister-city relationship when Xi was Fuzhou's party chief in 1984 | Seattle Times | |
| Dinner with Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft | Wall Street Journal | |
| Xi will attend a private gathering with members of the Chinese Community on the west coast | Seattle Times | |
| Sept. 24 | Xi arrives in the US capital, Washington | |
| He will attend a working dinner at the White House with US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice | New York Times | |
| Sept. 25 | Xi will be greeted by a 21-gun salute at the White House and hold a joint press conference with Obama | The White House |
| He will have lunch with Kerry and Vice-President Joe Biden at the US State Department | New York Times | |
| Xi will visit Capitol Hill to meet congressional leaders | New York Times | |
| Later he will attend a state dinner hosted by Obama and his wife at the White House's North Portico | The White House | |
| Sept. 26 | Xi arrives in New York | |
| He will attend the High-level Roundtable on South-South Cooperation | Xinhua | |
| Sept. 27 | Xi will attend the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment | Xinhua |
| Sept. 28 | Xi will give his first speech at the 70th United Nations General Assembly | SCMP |
| Later he will attend a climate-change working lunch | Xinhua |
What will they talk about?
The world’s two largest economies have a lot on their plate
| Economy | China's faltering economy is expected to receive unprecedented attention during Xi's trip, which is heavily focused on commerce and trade. Xi's main mission should be to reassure investors that China's economy is stable and open for business, observers say. Read more » |
| Market access | Beijing and Washington are hammering out a treaty that would give Chinese and US firms more access to each other's markets. The two nations have exchanged revised offers for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT). Read more » |
| Cyber-security | The issue of cyber-espionage will no doubt be addressed, Obama said recently. The issue rose to the fore in the wake of a major attack this summer on the US Office of Personnel Management, which saw hackers make off with the personal information of over four million current and former federal workers. Read more » |
| South China Sea | New satellite imagery released by a US think tank last week indicates China is building a third runway in the Spratly Islands, facilities it needs to break the US grip in the South China Sea if tensions escalate, analysts say. Read more » |
| Taiwan | The presidential election in Taiwan will be held on January 16, 2016, and the independence-leaning DPP is widely expected to win it. President Xi Jinping will raise the issue in his talks with President Barack Obama, China's government said on Wednesday. Read more » |
| Human Rights | In a nationwide campaign that began in July, at least 286 lawyers, law firm staff, human rights activists and their family members have been detained, arrested, or barred from leaving the country, the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group has said. Read more » |
| Climate Change | The crucial UN Climate Change Conference is set to begin in Paris on November 30, 2015. According to European Commission research, China is by far the largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world, pumping out almost twice as much as the United States in 2013. Read more » |
| Anti-corruption drive | President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping campaign against graft since assuming power in late 2012, but has been hampered by difficulties in getting corrupt officials and assets back from overseas. Read more » |
Who will join Xi Jinping in visit?
 | Tung Chee-hwa Former Hong Kong chief executive 1997-2003 | 78-year old Tung played an important role in behind-the-scenes talks between China and the US. Not considered an "official member" of his entourage, Tung will only attend one or two events, a source told the South China Morning Post on September 11. |
 | Lu Wei China's Internet tsar | As the director of China's internet regulator the State Internet Information Office, Lu Wei oversees China’s internet policies and cybersecurity. He will attend the US-China Internet Industry Forum in Seattle. |
 | Wang Huning Director of the Central Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee; Politburo member | The former academic Wang, 59, has headed the think tank for senior leaders for 13 years. He has been a top policy adviser and speechwriter to three successive presidents: Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and now Xi Jinping. As a key architect of China's domestic and foreign policy over the past decade, Wang has accompanied the three presidents on almost every domestic and foreign trip. |
 | Li Zhanshu Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Politburo member | The 65-year-old is a close confidant of Xi's. He serves as Xi's chief of staff, monitoring the operation of the decision-making circle. |
 | Yang Jiechi State Councilor | Yang, 65, is a lifelong professional diplomat. He was China's foreign minister from 2007 to 2013, before joining the State Council to serve as one of the most prominent architects of China's foreign policy. He was the Chinese Ambassador to the US from 2001 to 2005. |
Participants in the Third US-China Governors' Forum
On the first day of his trip, Chinese president Xi will meet Washington state officials at the Westin Seattle Hotel, where six Chinese governors will meet five US governors to discuss collaborating on clean technologies and economic development in the Third US-China Governors' Forum.
| Chinese governors | |
|---|---|
| Wang Dongming | Sichuan party chief |
| Wang Anshun | Beijing mayor |
| Huang Qifan | Chongqing mayor |
| Li Qiang | Zhejiang governor |
| Guo Shuqing | Shandong governor |
| Lou Qinjian | Shaanxi governor |
| American governors | |
|---|---|
| Jay Inslee | Governor of Washington |
| Jerry Brown | Governor of California |
| Rick Snyder | Governor of Michigan |
| Terry Branstad | Governor of Iowa |
| Kate Brown | Governor of Oregon |
15 Chinese executives to participate in the dialogue hosted by Paulson Institute
The Paulson Institute, founded by former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, a man known for his role as a Sino-US mediator, will be hosting an event on September 23 between 15 executives from each country.
On the American side, the 15 executives will be: Mary Barra (General Motors), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway), John Chambers (Cisco), Tim Cook (Apple), Dave Cote (Honeywell), Bob Iger (Disney), Ellen Kullman (DuPont), Andrew Liveris (Dow Chemical), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo), Dennis Muilenburg (Boeing), Tom Pritzker (Hyatt), Howard Schultz (Starbucks)
What's in a picture? The unspoken messages in Xi Jinping's group portrait with CEOs and senior executives
What’s in a picture? In Chinese politics, the positioning of officials in photos is often highly symbolic. Our reporters analyse what the positioning in this photo taken on September 23 at Microsoft’s main campus might have meant.
Front row L-R: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, JD.com's Liu Qiangdong, Cisco's John Chambers, Alibaba's Jack Ma, IBM's Ginni Rometty, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, China's Internet czar Lu Wei, Apple's Tim Cook, Tencent's Pony Ma, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
Middle row L-R: Sohu's Zhang Chaoyang, AMD's Lisa Su, Lenovo's Yang Yuanqing, Microsoft's Harry Shum, Qualcomm's Steve Mollenkopf, CETC's Ziong Qunli, Intel's Brian Krzanich, Qihoo 360's Zhou Hongyi, LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, and SINA's Cao Guowei.
Back row L-R: Sugon's Li Jun, Didi-Kuaidi's Cheng Wei, Broadband Capital's Tian Suning, CEC's Liu Liehong, Baidu's Zhang Yaqin, AME Cloud Ventures' Jerry Yang, Inspur's Sun Pishu, AirBnB's Brian Chesky, and Sequoia Capital's Shen Nanpeng.
Our stories on SCMP.com
Links to the South China Morning Post’s comprehensive coverage will be posted here
