Xi claims 'success' as US trumpets China film deal

Posted: February 18, 2012 at 7:16 pm


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Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping declared his US visit a "full success" as he ended it in Hollywood -- and as Washington said he agreed to let more US films into China's vast market.

Xi, who attended a basketball game in Los Angeles on Friday, made the comments in the final hours of his five-day trip, which started with talks in Washington and included a charm offensive in America's heartland.

"I can now say my visit to the United States has been a full success," Xi said in a visit to a Los Angeles school with US Vice President Joe Biden, adding that his meetings with Biden and President Barack Obama had been "very fruitful."

Echoing the warm remarks, Biden -- who visited China last year -- joked: "I envy a lot of things about him, starting with his full head of hair. And I admire his stamina. We have given him virtually no time to sleep."

But Biden also reiterated a key message Xi has heard this week -- that the United States wants Beijing to play the same "rules of the game" to reduce the enormous trade imbalance between the two economic heavyweights.

"We very much want to see more of our business in China, and Vice President Xi has committed to making that possible," he said, adding: "The faster the US economy grows the more Chinese citizens will benefit."

And shortly before Xi's scheduled departure Biden announced that China had agreed to "significantly" increase market access to US movies as part of outstanding issues following a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute.

The deal will allow more than 50 percent more US movies into China, added the Motion Picture Association (MPAA), while Biden did not put numbers on the increase, according to a White House statement.

A Chinese quota system restricts the number of foreign movies coming into the country annually to 20. In 2009 the WTO ruled against Chinese limits on the import of films, DVDs, music and books, but little has changed.

"This agreement with China will make it easier than ever before for US studios and independent filmmakers to reach the fast-growing Chinese audience, supporting thousands of American jobs," Biden said.

There was no immediate Chinese reaction to the White House statement, but Xi hailed Biden earlier in the day, saying: "We have established a good personal friendship and working relationship."

He recalled how China competed in the Olympics in 1984 for the first time after being re-admitted, adding that bilateral relations have "made some twists and turns" along way, but that "over the years we have made some headway."

Building further cooperation between the nations "is the right strategic decision that serves the interests of both," he said.

A string of deals were signed on the sidelines of Xi's visit, including one Friday by "Kung Fu Panda" US studio giant DreamWorks Animation for a $330 million (250 million euro) Chinese joint venture, Oriental DreamWorks.

The tie-up, unveiled by DreamWorks Animation boss Jeffrey Katzenberg, will team his California-based studio with three Chinese companies -- which will hold a majority 55 percent stake -- to operate a studio in Shanghai.

Katzenberg told AFP a short time afterwards that Oriental DreamWorks' first film was expected to be released in 2016.

The developments came as Xi rounded off a US trip that included a meeting at the White House with Obama, who urged China to play by the "same rules" in the global economy but voiced hope for cooperation.

Xi then traveled to Iowa, where a business delegation accompanying him agreed to buy 317 million bushels of soybeans from major US companies, in a deal estimated to be worth $4.3 billion.

On Friday he spent his final hours on US soil at an economic forum in downtown Los Angeles, before a National Basketball Association game between the LA Lakers and the Phoenix Suns at the Staples Center.

A commentary on his US trip Friday in the overseas edition of the People's Daily -- the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party -- said the visit had "deepened mutual understanding" between China and the United States.

"Xi Jinping's visit was not long, but it had a big impact in promoting exchanges between the two peoples," it said. "This partnership will certainly see a more healthy development."

The Chinese leader starts the next leg of his trip in Ireland on Saturday. He is also due to travel to Turkey before returning home.

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Xi claims 'success' as US trumpets China film deal

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February 18th, 2012 at 7:16 pm

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