海角大神

Now comes the fun part.

After getting an earful from Vice President Joe Biden in聽Washington聽about intellectual property rights and a cuff full of hog leavings at a farm in聽Iowa, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping now will tour聽Hollywood聽and hang with the people closest to the hearts of common Chinese people: movie executives and NBA basketball stars. He arrives Thursday afternoon and leaves Friday night.

Why is he here? 鈥淥h, there must be 15 trillion reasons,鈥� quipped Jay Leno on last night鈥檚 鈥�Tonight Show,鈥� referencing the size of the US federal debt (for which China is a major creditor).

But the inside story is that teams of Chinese film-production specialists have been here for months working on a deal to be announced by Mr. Xi on Friday: DreamWorks Animation will jointly build and operate a studio in Shanghai with two state-owned Chinese media companies, Shanghai Media Group and China Media Capital.

Beyond that, Xi will tour the聽Port聽of聽Los Angeles, where the China Shipping Terminal is doubling its space to keep up with the massive US-China trade, which reached $133 billion in 2011.

And Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California Gov. Jerry Brown want to talk to Xi about Chinese investment in high-speed rail, which has come under scrutiny and has lost some public support here in recent weeks with the release of several studies suggesting major cost overruns.

But the biggest part of the 鈥淢r. Xi goes to Hollywood鈥� story is for him to make as many contacts in the cinema industry as possible. The goal is to jump-start the Chinese industry, says to Clayton Dube, associate director of the US-China Institute at the University of Southern California.

鈥淭his is a very, very big issue for the Chinese, who have been very successful in developing their own economy and high-tech products, but their films have not traveled well,鈥� says Mr. Dube.

He mentions a recent film called 鈥淔lowers of War鈥� with 海角大神 Bale that was the most expensive film ever made in聽China聽but didn鈥檛 do well in聽China聽or the聽US. The Chinese are interested in films that do very well globally 鈥� and that has meant big special effects and 3-D movies in the mold of 鈥淎vatar鈥� and 鈥淭ransformers.鈥澛�

Dube says聽China聽wants to mimic US 鈥渟oft power鈥� 鈥� its ability to influence world culture.

鈥淪oft power refers to the ability to have people attracted to you, and that is what the聽US聽has in abundance and what Xi wants to know more about,鈥� says Dube.

He says the Chinese have developed their own 鈥淐hina鈥檚 Got Talent,鈥� with three judges based on the聽American model. A 65-year-old grandmother recently won by dancing to Michael Jackson鈥檚 hit, 鈥淏eat it.鈥�

鈥淭he Chinese are very frustrated that it was Hollywood and not them which came up with 鈥�Kung Fu Panda,鈥� " he says, talking of the recent animated hit. 鈥淭hey said, 'Hey, Kung Fu is ours, Pandas are ours. Why can鈥檛 we do that?' 鈥�

Dube and others say that, as the聽Chinese try to learn to create like Americans,聽Hollywood聽will use Xi鈥檚 visit to talk about Chinese investment in American films.

The聽L.A.聽visit will also be a time to loosen the collar a bit, say other analysts.

"This visit is coming at a sensitive time, in that Apple has come under criticism for working conditions at its plants in聽China, and tensions are escalating as iPads are being seized over a trademark dispute with a company in Shenzhen,鈥� says聽Maria Toyoda, a聽political scientist at Villanova聽University in Philadelphia, in an e-mail. 鈥淪o, piracy may be an issue that would be raised in a delicate way, if at all."

"This visit is mostly about trade," she says. "Xi wants to head off any tensions, business people on both sides are using the coattails of this visit to cut deals, and California聽mayors are looking for investment and job growth.鈥�

After urging the聽US聽on Wednesday to reduce its 鈥渕isunderstanding and suspicion鈥� of聽China, Xi will have the chance to share hot dogs with Mayor Villaraigosa at聽L.A.鈥檚 other major world attraction that interests the Chinese: the Los Angeles Lakers. They will attend a game Friday night against the Phoenix Suns 补迟听厂迟补辫濒别蝉颁别苍迟别谤.

Dube says Kobe Bryant鈥檚 jersey was the biggest selling NBA item in聽China聽last year, and even women in rural areas know key statistics, trades, and game nights.聽

T-shirts and bags in China read: 鈥� 鈥楬uren Dui鈥�, which means 'Men of the Lake Team,' " says Dube. 鈥淴i will be a very popular man all over聽China聽for having gone to see them live on their home court.鈥�

And that鈥檚 just one side of the equation.

鈥淎 visit like this is meant to show Xi to Americans as a much warmer and down-to-earth personality, and more approachable" than former President Hu Jintao, says Carla Freeman, professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. 鈥淚t sends a signal that the Chinese are interested in more than just politics in Washington, but聽America聽as a whole and as a people.鈥�