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By Jeremy Page
SEATTLE–China’s President Xi Jinping pledged Tuesday to push ahead with economic reforms, without resorting to competitive currency devaluation, and to work with the U.S. on cybersecurity threats, on the opening day of his first state visit to the U.S.
In a speech at a welcoming dinner in downtown Seattle, Mr. Xi also denied that his sweeping anticorruption campaign, which has seen the detention of several generals and senior civilian figures, reflected a power struggle within the ruling Communist Party.
“In this case, there is no ‘House of Cards,’” Mr. Xi said with a smile, prompting laughter and applause from the roughly 750 guests from the U.S. private and public sectors. Other dignitaries included Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. Secretary of State.
It was Mr. Xi’s first policy address of his seven-day visit, which also covers Washington, D.C., and New York, and comes amid mounting U.S. concerns over the slowing of China’s economic growth, alleged Chinese cyberattacks on the U.S. and Beijing’s island-building in the disputed South China Sea.
The visit has come under criticism, notably from Republican presidential candidates, that President Barack Obama shouldn’t be hosting Mr. Xi in the first place.
The Chinese president began by striking a humble tone, recalling his experiences as a teenager when he was sent to work in the countryside during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. He said China would continue its policy of aggressive development to help more people “live a better life.”
He defended his government’s attempt to support Chinese share prices in recent weeks, but said the market had now reached a point of “self-recovery and self-adjustment.”
“Given the economic and financial situation at home and abroad, there is no basis for continuous depreciation of the renminbi,” he said.
U.S. businesses have expressed concern in recent days about China’s commitment to opening its market to more foreign competition, and about new national security legislation they say could restrict their operations in China.
The welcoming dinner was co-hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council, or USCBC, a nonprofit organization of some 220 U.S. companies that do business with China.
USCBC’s president, John Frisbie, warned on Monday of “uncertainty” among U.S. business leaders about China’s slowing economic growth, its leaders’ commitment to reform, and strategic tensions in bilateral relations, especially over cybersecurity.
“The most important thing Xi can do during his visit to the United States is address this uncertainty,” Mr. Frisbie wrote in the USCBC magazine, China Business Review. “Business is looking for tangible signals of reforms, but not getting it.”
Chinese officials have tried to play down such concerns in the run-up to the visit, and to focus public attention instead on the benefits of economic relations between China and the U.S.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Xi met local government officials, including Seattle mayor Ed Murray, to discuss trade and cultural exchanges between China and Washington state.
Mr. Xi and six Chinese provincial governors also met with five U.S. state governors to discuss collaboration on clean technology and economic development.
Mr. Xi is scheduled to address a meeting of U.S. and Chinese chief executives in Seattle on Wednesday before touring Microsoft Corp. and Boeing Co. facilities, and going to a high school in the nearby port of Tacoma that he visited as a local official in 1993.
He is due to meet Mr. Obama for a private dinner in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and for a summit and state banquet on Friday. He then heads to New York to attend United Nations meetings over the weekend.
Write to Jeremy Page at jeremy.page@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2015 22:48 ET (02:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
