China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping arrives on US visit The USA Times

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping arrives on US visit

WASHINGTON - The man destined to become the next leader of China has arrived in the United States on a visit that will include a welcome at the White House.

Vice-President Xi Jinping arrived on an Air China jet Monday at an air base outside Washington. He was greeted by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

Xi's visit reciprocates Vice-President Joe Biden's trip to China in August. He will meet with President Barack Obama at the Oval Office on Tuesday, and later travel to the states of Iowa and California.

Xi's getting-acquainted visit is also a chance for the U.S. and China to discuss thorny economic and security issues.

Xi is set to replace Hu Jintao as leader of China's communist party later this year, then succeed him as president in 2013.