What Xi said

1 On Seattle:

Xi reminded his audience that he was no stranger to Washington state and Seattle. "Known as the Evergreen State and the Emerald City, here you have got the majestic Mount Rainier and the charming Lake Washington. The film Sleepless in Seattle has made the city almost a household name in China."

2 On graft:

Xi said both "tigers" and "flies" - metaphors for high-ranking and low-ranking corrupt officials - have been punished in response to Chinese people's demands. "This has nothing to do with a power struggle. It's nothing like what you see in House of Cards," he said in a reference to the TV series, which drew laughter.

3 On reading:

Xi, a voracious reader, said he had read Common Sense by Thomas Paine and works by US authors including Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain and Jack London when he was young.