China's Xi Jinping is arriving in Seattle to start tense U.S. visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, land in Seattle on Tuesday morning for a two-day visit that includes stops at Boeing's factory and Microsoft's headquarters. On Thursday, Xi leaves Washington State for Washington, D.C., where he will meet with President Obama before a lavish state dinner on Friday night. It will be tense, The Associated Press notes, since Obama will be raising a toast to the leader of a country his administration accuses of massive cyber-espionage, militarizing the South China Sea, and abusing the human rights of its citizens.

"This is an important moment for one of the world's most vital relationships," The Economist says. "Trust is fading on both sides," and compared with previous Chinese major visits, America is "less optimistic about changing China, and increasingly wary of its growing strength."

But come Friday, a few hundred guests will probably enjoy the dinner party, regardless of whether the guest of honor is one of America's biggest frenemies. "Who wouldn't want to be in the room?" Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles tells AP. "Die-hard cool people are excited to be there. No one is too cool to be in the room with the head of China and the head of the U.S." In the video below, BBC News looks at what ordinary Chinese and Americans think about Xi's visit. Peter Weber

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