Washington: Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington on Friday, kicking off a state visit by dining with US President Barack Obama, an informal sit-down that may shape superpower relations for years to come.
Leaders of the world's two pre-eminent military and economic powers will dine at Blair House -- a casual meal that aides say could be as important as Friday's formal proceedings.
Analysts say Xi prizes Friday's 21-gun salute and ceremonial state dinner as a way of showing the Chinese people that he and the country are being treated as a great power.
But US officials admit the litany of problems now plaguing US-China relations and doubts over Xi's commitment to a "peaceful rise" are unlikely to be resolved over butter-poached Maine lobster or grilled cannon of Colorado lamb.
"Far and away, the most constructive engagements they've had have been in their private dinners," said senior Obama national security aide Ben Rhodes.
Today's informal dinner is an opportunity, Rhodes said, to "put aside the talking points and actually get a window into one another's world view."
"And those world views are very different. And that's part of why I think the conversations are useful and important, because it provides a context for all these issues."
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