Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in California for summit talks with US President Barack Obama.
The two-day meeting, at a private estate, is the first between the two since Mr Xi became president in March.
The informal setting is seen as a chance for the leaders of the world’s largest economies to build a rapport amid a slew of high-stakes issues.
Cyber espionage is expected to top the agenda, with North Korea, Asian security and trade also key topics.
US lawmakers and human rights groups have also urged Mr Obama to call for the release of 16 high-profile prisoners, including jailed Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo.
Mr Xi’s US stop is the fourth leg of a trip that has taken him to Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico.
Accompanied by his wife, folk singer Peng Liyuan, he arrived at California’s Ontario International Airport on Thursday.
‘New perspective’
The summit, at the sprawling Sunnylands estate in the Mojave desert, is expected to begin on Friday afternoon and include a private dinner between the two leaders. Further talks will be held on Saturday.
The meeting comes months earlier than expected – Mr Obama and Mr Xi had been expected to meet at an economic summit in Russia in September.
“I have the impression that both sides are willing to re-examine their premises, and to see whether they can achieve a relationship based on some perspective that goes beyond the moment – in other words that goes beyond solving immediate problems,” former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told the BBC.
Ahead of the summit, White House officials told reporters hacking would be raised, amid growing concern in the US over alleged intrusions from China in recent months.
Last month the Washington Post reported that Chinese hackers had accessed designs for more than two dozen US weapons systems, citing a confidential Pentagon report. The US also directly accused Beijing of targeting US government computers as part of a cyber espionage campaign in a report in early May.
China denies any role in state-sponsored hacking – earlier this week its internet chief said China had “mountains of data” pointing to US-based cyber attacks.
Trade issues are also expected to be a priority, as is North Korea – which conducted its third nuclear test in February. Beijing – Pyongyang’s nominal ally – is seen as the only nation capable of bringing meaningful pressure to bear on the communist state.
Other topics up for discussion may include territorial disputes in Asia and human rights in China.
Activists and relatives have urged the US president to raise the issue of the “China 16” – a group of individuals detained on political or religious grounds.
As well as Mr Liu, they include human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and Chen Kegui, the nephew of the blind activist who took shelter in the US embassy in Beijing last year, Chen Guangcheng.
Analysts see the informal talks as a welcome departure from the more formal protocol adopted in US talks with former Chinese leaders.
Mr Xi is said to have developed a warm relationship with Vice-President Joe Biden after the latter’s China visit in 2011. He also has ties to the US, having spent time in an Iowa town in 1985 as a part of a Chinese farming delegation.
During his US visit in February last year, the then vice-president called for deeper “strategic trust” with the US in a speech.
Observers will be waiting to see whether the summit with Mr Obama will be a first step in that direction.
