Last week we posted a report titled "Tensions are high as Apple and other Tech Titans are set to Meet with China's Internet Czar in Seattle Next Week," which was a follow-up report to our first report on this matter titled "The U.S. is on the Cusp of Taking Action against China for Cyber Espionage that Could Affect Apple and other Tech Firms. To set the right mood, Chinese President Xi Jinping wooed the Seattle elite with pop-culture jokes and promises of reform last night. Today President Xi Jinping gets down to business and is set to meet with Apple Inc's Tim Cook and other top tech executives.

On this first leg of a trip to the United States, the Seattle stop offered a chance to highlight China's cooperation with U.S. companies firms before he heads to Washington, where he will have to contend with the full spectrum of irritants in relations, from tension in the South China Sea to human rights to cyber espionage costing U.S. companies billions of dollars a month as noted in the video below which is no laughing matter.

In a speech on Tuesday night Xi joked that there was no power struggle in China over an anti-corruption drive. "There is no House of Cards," Xi said, drawing laughter with a reference to the U.S. television drama about merciless political machinations that is also popular in China, reports Reuters.

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