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Microsoft and Boeing to lead Seattle's embrace of Hu
2006-04-18
Led by Microsoft and Boeing, companies with strong business interests in China, Seattle is expected to give a warm welcome to President Hu Jintao on the first leg of his US visit. Rumbling trade disputes are expected to hover over the Chinese leader's first official visit to the United States, but when Hu arrives in the west coast city on Tuesday morning he will be among friends. The 63-year-old leader is scheduled to meet with Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire before being shown Microsoft Corp. facilities by chairman Bill Gates. On Wednesday, he will be taken on a tour of The Boeing Company's Everett plant by Boeing's commercial airplane president Alan Mulally. Starting the April 18-21 visit with Boeing and Microsoft appears to be an attempt by Hu to show the United States that China can be a good trade partner. Boeing has benefitted from China's numerous purchases of its aircrafts, including a deal for 80 planes worth 4.6 billion dollars this month. Microsoft also looks likely to reap the rewards of a new rule ahead of the visit that requires all computers made and sold in China to be pre-installed with legitimate software to prevent piracy. In Seattle, Hu will be treated like a celebrity. Gregoire will host a dinner for Hu and approximately 100 business, government and community leaders at the home of Gates Tuesday. The Seattle Trade Development Alliance, which is organizing Hu's visit, said Washington State had a long history of trade and other relations with China and it was only natural for Hu to begin his US visit in the state's main city. China is currently Washington State's third-largest trading partner, with more than 20 billion US dollars in two-way trade, it said. However Hu is also likely to get an early taste in Seattle of the protests which are expected to follow his tour. A host of groups eager to air grievances over China's policies towards Tibet, Taiwan, the Falungong spiritual movement and the pro-democracy movement have vowed to make themselves heard. A joint rally by Taiwanese-Americans, Tibetan rights advocates and Falungong members is scheduled to take place near his hotel in Seattle on Tuesday. "We've made at least 200 to 300 signs and we're hoping to have one person per sign," said Brian Stolz, an organizer. "Seattle is a pretty laid-back place, but we don't like what China's doing and we believe this is a unique opportunity for us to say something," Stolz said. On Monday, approximately 150 Falungong members demonstrated in Seattle's Chinatown, he said. Hu on Wednesday will head to Washington, the US capital, to meet with US President George W. Bush and other US officials on Thursday. The visit, which comes amid growing outcry in the Bush administration and Congress over the record 201 billion dollar US trade deficit with China, will likely see Hu grilled on Beijing's alleged "unfair" trade practices. On Monday, Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said he expected "great attention" on the Chinese currency issue during the summit. The United States has been pushing Beijing to let its currency rise, blaming the "undervalued" yuan for giving Chinese exports a competitive advantage. It also has lobbied Beijing to further open its vast market to US firms and products and crackdown on rampant piracy, which is costing American companies millions of dollars in lost revenue.
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