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

Xi made the comments on Friday, 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.

"We very much want to see more of our business in China, and Vice President Xi has committed to making that possible," he said, adding: "The faster the US economy grows the more Chinese citizens will benefit."

In America, "we all welcome the competition," he told Xi, who is expected to lead the rising Asian power for a decade starting next year.

But he added: "The crux of our discussion is that competition only benefits everyone if the rules of the game are fair and being followed.

"So we will continue with the Vice President and the Chinese government to make sure that everyone is playing by the same rules, and everyone is on a level playing field."

Xi hailed Biden, saying: "We have established a good personal friendship and working relationship."

Recalling how China competed in the Olympics in 1984 for the first time after being re-admitted, adding that Chinese relations have "made some twists and turns" along way, but "over the years we have made some headway."

Building further cooperation between the nations "is the right strategic decision that serves the interests of both," he said.

Protests have accompanied Xi throughout his trip, and did so to the last: hundreds of Tibetan and Falun Gong activists rallied outside his LA hotel Friday, along with a group of pro-Chinese activists waving red Chinese flags.

A string of deals were signed in the sidelines of Xi's visit, including one Friday by "Kung Fu Panda" US studio giant DreamWorks Animation for a $330 million Chinese joint venture, Oriental DreamWorks.

The tie-up, unveiled by DreamWorks Animation boss Jeffrey Katzenberg, will team his California-based studio with three Chinese companies -- who will hold a majority 55 percent stake -- to operate a studio in Shanghai.

Katzenberg told AFP a short time afterwards that Oriental DreamWorks' first film was expected to be released in 2016.

Ruigang Li, chairman of one of the companies China Media Capital, added: "We share the same vision with DreamWorks Animation to build a world-class family entertainment company."

The announcement came as Xi rounded off a US trip that included a meeting at the White House with Obama, who urged China to play by the "same rules" in the global economy but voiced hope for cooperation.

Xi then traveled to Iowa, where a business delegation accompanying him agreed to buy 317 million bushels of soybeans from major US companies, in a deal estimated to be worth $4.3 billion.

On Friday he was spending his final hours on US soil at an economic forum in downtown Los Angeles, before a National Basketball Association game between the LA Lakers and the Phoenix Suns at the Staples Center.

A commentary on his US trip Friday in the overseas edition of the People's Daily -- the mouthpiece of China's Communist Party -- said the visit had "deepened mutual understanding" between China and the United States.

"Xi Jinping's visit was not long, but it had a big impact in promoting exchanges between the two peoples," it said. "This partnership will certainly see a more healthy development."

The Chinese leader starts the next leg of his trip in Ireland on Saturday. He is also due to travel to Turkey before returning home.

Excerpt from:
Xi declares 'success' as US trip ends in Hollywood