In 2012, just before taking over as China's leader, Mr Xi Jinping spent a week in the United States in an effort to charm the American public. He visited a farm in Iowa where he had stayed as a young man and took in a Lakers basketball match in Los Angeles, posing for photographs with retired legend Magic Johnson.
His host for the trip was then Vice-President Joe Biden, who praised Mr Xi for his willingness to shake up the impression Americans might have about Chinese politicians.
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