Welcome, President Xi

On his first state visit to the U.S., Chinese President Xi Jinping will have two goals: to reassure executives that China is still a good place to do business, and to secure for China the respect due a state equal in stature to the U.S.

Xi arrives in Seattle on Sept. 22 and then heads to Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24. In Seattle, he’ll give a major policy address at a dinner organized by various U.S.-China trade groups and local and state officials. The Chinese president will join a roundtable discussion hosted by former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Xi will see Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Apple’s Tim Cook, and various top execs. Alibaba founder Jack Ma, Baidu President Zhang Ya-Qin, and JD.com founder Richard Liu will be in town. The president was invited to dine at Gates’s house, but he opted to attend a low-key reception for the Chinese community, according to one person familiar with the planning. Crammed into his stay will be a tour of a Boeing factory: The Chinese may announce some big orders.