ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Alaska (all times local):
9:10 p.m.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker talked trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping during Xi’s refueling stop in Anchorage Friday night.
Walker touted Alaska’s natural resources and told Xi the state could provide a generation’s worth of liquefied natural gas to China.
Xi didn’t address the natural gas discussion in brief remarks to reporters before a meeting and dinner before he was to resume his flight to China.
Instead, he told reporters that he has been to Alaska several times before this trip, but he never had the chance to see the state’s natural beauty up close.
Before the meeting, he took a ride on the only highway that leads south of Anchorage, a stunning coastal highway along Turnagain Arm in Cook Inlet. The water of the arm is surrounded by snowcapped mountains, glaciers and abundant wildlife.
Xi said he enjoyed being able to take in some of the sights, however short the trip was.
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6:54 p.m.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is getting a quick view of America’s Last Frontier.
Xi stopped in Alaska for a refueling stop following his meeting with President Donald Trump ended earlier Friday in Florida.
Alaska Gov. Bill Walker welcomed Xi during a ceremony on the tarmac at the Anchorage airport. They then set off on a short sightseeing tour of Alaska’s largest city.
Later, they plan a business meeting and dinner at a downtown Anchorage hotel before Xi returns to the airport for the 4,000-mile trip to Beijing.
China is Alaska’s leading trade partner, buying more than $1 billion in Alaska products in 2016. Alaska’s leading export is various species of fish. It’s a two-way street, with Alaska’s imports from China only lagging behind trade with neighboring Canada.
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Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
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