Chinese President meets with business leaders in Pacific Northwest

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose agenda in the U.S. includes commercial issues, Wednesday met with CEOs from Boeing, Apple and Cisco in Seattle on his way to visit President Obama in Washington, D.C. on Friday.    Chinese leader Xi Jinping stopped in Seattle earlier this week for a series of business events on his way to visit President Obama in Washington, D.C. on Friday.
   On Wednesday, President Xi met with CEOs from companies such as Boeing, Apple and Cisco and toured the Boeing plant in Everett, Wash.
   On Tuesday evening, he gave a major policy speech at a dinner hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Xi expressed optimism about the growth of China’s economy in the 7 percent range and said China would not lower the renminbi’s exchange rate to make exports cheaper, according to CNBC. Raising per capita income and the standard of living remains the nation’s top priority, according to Xi.
   U.S. business leaders hope one outcome of the visit is advancing a bilateral investment treaty that provides equal treatment to each country’s investors.
   In a recent letter to President Obama and President Xi, 94 American CEOs said a bilateral investment treaty would provide more transparency and stimulate cross-border investment flows, leading to greater job creation.
   The latest example of Chinese foreign direct investment in the United States came Wednesday, when the South Carolina Department of Commerce announced that Suzhou Glacier Import & Export Co., a textile manufacturer for the auto industry, is investing $24 million in a new manufacturing facility the northwest region of the state. The plant is expected to create 109 jobs.
   Earlier this month, state-owned Chinese rail manufacturer China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) broke ground on a $60 million facility in Springfield, Mass. that will produce and assemble train cars for the Boston subway system as part of a $566 million contract CRRC signed with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) last year.
   Trade, cyber-security and industry espionage, and sovereignty in the South China Sea are among the issues the two presidents are expected to discuss.