Xi declares 'success' as US trip ends in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES: Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping declared his US visit a "full success" Friday, as he rounded it out with a Hollywood film deal and a trip to a basketball game in Los Angeles.

Xi made the comments in the final hours of his five-day trip, which started with power talks in Washington and included a charm offensive trip to America's heartland, where he reached out with billions of dollars in farm deals.

"I can now say my visit to the United States has been a full success," Xi said in a visit to an LA school with US Vice President Joe Biden, adding that his meetings with Biden and President Barack Obama had been "very fruitful."

Echoing the warm remarks, Biden - who visited China last year - joked: "I envy a lot of things about him, starting with his full head of hair. And I admire his stamina. We have given him virtually no time to sleep."

But Biden also reiterated a key message Xi has heard this week - that the United States wants Beijing to play the same "rules of the game" to reduce the enormous trade imbalance between the two heavyweights. (AFP)