Crowds at L.A. Live greet Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping

[ellisonz]

Photo: Crowds at L.A. Live greet Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping. Credit: Rosanna Xia

February 17, 2012 | 12:18 pm
-- Rosanna Xia in downtown Los Angeles

As Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping began a morning of meetings Friday with Vice President Joe Biden and Los Angeles leaders and businesspeople, hundreds of protesters and supporters gathered across the street from the J.W. Marriott hotel at L.A. Live.

A group of about 200 students from USC's Chinese Scholars Student Assn. stretched along the sidewalk, waving large Chinese flags with one hand and holding American flags in the other.

"We've been here since about 7 a.m.," said Daniel Wu, a doctoral student studying computer science at USC. " We're happy to see our vice president and America working together."

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Xi Jinping will conclude his U.S tour Friday afternoon and is scheduled to attend a Lakers game Friday evening.

More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/crowds-at-la-live-greet-chinese-vp-xi-jinping.html

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1. Chinese Vice President Cultivates Image of Approachable Leader

By EDWARD WONG
Published: February 17, 2012

LOS ANGELES — On his last full day in the United States, Xi Jinping, the presumed next president of China, continued his efforts to present himself as a leader with a feel for regular people — visiting a high school here and sharing his hobbies with students learning Mandarin.

Mr. Xi has cultivated a similar image at home, where his efforts to reach out to people have been welcomed by a populace used to more formal leaders.

After months of heightened tensions between the United States and China, and years of American complaints about Chinese trade practices, Mr. Xi’s outreach — complete with a stop in an Iowa town he stayed in as a young man — appeared to also be part of a choreographed attempt to highlight China’s ties, including trade links, to the United States.

Mr. Xi’s swing through the states took place under a gentler spotlight than his visit earlier in the week in Washington. On Tuesday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. spent the first half of a lunchtime toast listing complaints the American government had about Chinese policies, especially with regard to economic and trade issues. Mr. Xi got some of the same on Wednesday morning when he had private meetings with representatives and senators on Capitol Hill.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/world/asia/chinese-vice-president-xi-jinping-tours-los-angeles-port.html?partner=rss&emc=rss