Xi urges less 'suspicion' in US-China ties

China’s President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for less "suspicion" in ties between the world's top two economies, ahead of landmark talks later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama.

Xi touched on a litany of issues that have seriously frayed U.S.-China ties. He promised that China would not manipulate its currency to boost exports nor engage in cyber-theft, and that it would speed up the opening of its market.

Despite the reassurances, he is likely to be pressed for specifics in his meetings with Obama and others.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker greeted Xi on Tuesday, offering cooperation and support before saying that the U.S. government and companies have “serious concerns” about “the lack of a level playing field across a range of sectors."

Xi, for his part, vowed to treat U.S. investors in China fairly and fight against commercial cyber theft, a growing complaint against China by American businesses.

"We respect the international business norms of non-discrimination," he told an audience that included the chief executives of some of the largest U.S. businesses, including Boeing, Amazon, DuPont, IBM and Microsoft, all of whom have substantial business in China.

Xi's comments, at a keynote speech in the commercial hub of Seattle on Tuesday, came as U.S. aerospace giant Boeing reportedly clinched a deal with Chinese firms to sell 300 aircraft.

"We want to see more understanding and trust and less estrangement and suspicion," said Xi, whose country has seen somewhat strained ties with the United States on several issues.

"Conflict and confrontation" between the two powers "would lead to disaster for both countries and the world at large," Xi said.

China's foreign policy priority was to build what he described as a "new model" of relationship with Washington based on "non-confrontation, non-conflict, mutual respect and willing cooperation," the president said. "We must read each other's strategic intentions correctly."

Xi also said that China's economic downturn was temporary, and that the government was on top of recent market turmoil.

"At present all economies are facing difficulties and our economy is also under general pressure," Xi said.

"China's stock market has reached the phase of self-recovery and self-adjustment," he said.

Xi is spending two days in Seattle meeting with the governors of U.S. states with substantial trade and investment ties to China, and the businesses themselves, sending a message to the White House that U.S. companies need China.

On Wednesday he will visit Microsoft's huge campus and Boeing's assembly facility, following reports of the deal for 300 aircraft and a "completion center" in China for the firm's narrow-body 737 airliners.

Xi was introduced by legendary U.S. diplomat Henry Kissinger, who made the first secretive effort in 1971 to restore long-broken relations with China and who praised Xi as the man able to take the relationship to a new level.

The Chinese leader charmed his audience with quotes from Martin Luther King, recollections of former visits to Seattle and knowing references to popular U.S. culture, including the romance comedy "Sleepless in Seattle."

Defending his government's crackdown on corruption, he quipped: "This has nothing to do with power struggle. This is no 'House of Cards.’"

But he also took pains to remind Washington that China has been a responsible partner and team player in dealing with crises from Ebola to North Korea’s nuclear threat to global warming, as well as acting to support the world economy in the 2008 financial crisis.

And, following up his comments on his government's anti-corruption fight, he pointed a finger at the U.S. government's allowing Chinese wanted for corruption to reside in the U.S. He called for Washington's cooperation "so that corrupt elements will be denied an overseas safe haven."

Chinese authorities announced on Friday that Yang Jinjun, a businessman accused of corruption and bribery, had been repatriated to the People’s Republic, in what was hailed in Chinese state media as a harbinger of further collaboration.

He also responded to criticisms that China's tough new security law will effectively outlaw foreign nongovernmental organizations, saying the country welcomed and would protect those whose activities "are beneficial to the Chinese people."

But he also stressed they had to obey Chinese law: "On their part, foreign NGOs in China need to obey Chinese law and carry out activities in accordance with the law."

White House National Security Advisor Susan Rice met Tuesday with several representatives from among the universities, businesses and rights groups that would be forced to register and report to the Chinese security services if the draft law enters into force.

"Today's discussion focused on concerns that the draft legislation would further narrow space for civil society in China," the White House said in a statement that came hours after the Chinese leader landed in the U.S.

Al Jazeera and wire services