DHAKA: Chinese President Xi Jinping has sought to reassure US business leaders, in a wide-ranging speech covering China’s economic reforms and cyber crime.

Speaking in Seattle at the start of his state visit to the US, Xi said foreign firms were welcome in China, and that Beijing would not manipulate its currency to boost exports.

He also denied Beijing engages in hacking but said China would co-operate with Washington on the issue.

Both issues have led to strained ties, reports the BBC.

Hacking and economic reforms are expected to come up when Xi meets his US counterpart Barack Obama at the White House on Friday.

Jinping’s speech at a banquet in Seattle was wide-ranging, friendly and colorful, sprinkled with Chinese proverbs and references to American culture.

From Sleepless in Seattle to Walt Whitman, Xi lavished praise on the culture of his hosts.

He was particularly taken, he said, with Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea which follows a fisherman’s epic struggle to land a huge marlin.

BDST: 2057 HRS, SEPT 23, 2015
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** China President Xi Jinping begins US visit