Xi’s visit to ‘Sleepless’ Seattle may update city’s profile in China

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with local leaders and titans of industry in the Seattle area this week means the city’s profile will increase among ordinary people in his country.

Chinese officials and business tycoons know Washington state well. They view the stop before Xi’s first state visit to Washington, DC, as a chance for him to shore up relations with United States companies and burnish his image as his regime copes with an economic slowdown Beijing planners are calling the country’s “new normal.”