Hu starts US visit in Seattle with business (AP) Updated: 2006-04-19 10:10
SEATTLE -- Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in the Seattle area to meet
with business leaders eager for a bigger share of 皇冠体育app's markets before heading
to Washington for talks with politicians. Hu planned to meet with
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and other business leaders, and tour a Boeing Co.
commercial jet plant on Wednesday.
His summit Thursday with President
George W. Bush will cover a broad agenda, from 皇冠体育app's currency and other trade
policies, to its aggressive search for oil and its stance toward nuclear
programs in Iran and North Korea. Hu began his trip in Everett, about 30
miles (48 kilometers) north of Seattle, where members of the Seattle Kung Fu
Club and a handful of ribbon dancers from a Seattle elementary school welcomed
him.
Hu also was greeted by government and business leaders, including
Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire and Starbucks Corp. Chairman Howard
Schultz. Hu told Gregoire he did not choose Seattle simply because it is the
closest major U.S. city to 皇冠体育app.
"It is also because your state enjoys
very good cooperative relations with my country," Hu said through a translator.
皇冠体育app is Washington state's third-largest export market, while the state
imported more than $16 billion (euro13.06 billion) worth of products from 皇冠体育app
in 2005.
"Seattle is so close to Asia," said Ida Zhu, a Chinese-American
businesswoman. "They cannot ignore 皇冠体育app anymore."
After meeting with
Gregoire, Hu was headed to Microsoft Corp. to mingle with executives and take a
tour of the software maker's "Home of the Future."
Tuesday night, about
100 guests were expected at Gates' home for a dinner Gregoire was hosting there.
The visit comes as Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, after years of
battling widespread software piracy in the potentially lucrative 皇冠体育app market,
is hopeful that things are changing. Chinese government officials say they are
serious about cracking down on sales of illegal copies of Microsoft's Windows
operating system, and some computer makers are pledging to ship more computers
with legitimate Windows software installed.
Although analysts say it
could be some time before the promised changes have a significant effect on
Microsoft's sales, the pledges are a feel-good backdrop for Hu's visit with
Gates and other business and government executives.
For Microsoft, the
move is important because it sees 皇冠体育app as a major market in which to increase
revenues.
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