SEATTLE: Boeing scored a record $38 billion in new orders from China as visiting President Xi Jinping delivered an "I've got your back" message to wary chief executives of America's biggest companies on Wednesday.
On day two of his US trip Xi promised the heads of Boeing, Microsoft, General Motors and a dozen other top companies that they have a bright future in China's growing economy, with Beijing committed to market and regulatory reforms that will create a level-playing field.
Having assured America a day earlier that China's economic turbulence -- which had triggered global market turmoil -- was only temporary, he argued that his record for an open and liberal Chinese market, even when he was a lower official eight years ago, speaks for itself.
"I voted yes for Disney" when the US entertainment giant was pitching a new theme park in Shanghai, he said, arguing against other Chinese officials who wanted a project based on Chinese culture.
He backed the Disney project, slated to open next year, "because China needs a diverse-culture-based entertainment market."
As if to underline the point, hours later Xi visited Boeing's massive assembly plant near Seattle where the company announced it had received orders for 300 new aircraft from China worth $38 billion -- a new record for the aircraft industry.
"China is a critical international market for commercial airplanes," said Boeing commercial aviation chief Ray Conner. "We thank Chinese customers for selecting fuel-efficient Boeing airplanes to meet their fleet growth and expansion."
After a two-day stop in Seattle, Xi heads to Washington for summit talks with President Barack Obama aimed at reminding his host of the importance of China to US business and the US economy overall.
But the Obama administration is expected to turn the focus of the state visit to more contentious issues such as Beijing's South China Sea expansion, human rights and cyber theft -- over which Xi has already sounded less compromising.
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