Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan wave upon their arrival in California, the United States, June 6, 2013. Xi arrived in California Thursday for a meeting with US President Barack Obama. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping arrived in California on Thursday evening for his upcoming meeting with United States President Barack Obama on Friday and Saturday.

The attention-grabbing event, the first such face-to-face talk between the two leaders since Xi took office as Chinese president in March, is expected to input positive energy into the growth of Sino-US ties, and come up with some guidelines on how to develop a new type of relationship between major powers - a concept that Beijing has been striving for since Xi's presidency, observers said.

Xi's special flight landed at Ontario International Airport at around 6:15 pm. California governor Jerry Brown and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa welcomed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at the airport.

According to the schedule, the meetings will be held at Sunnylands, on the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Estate over the next two days.

The two leaders will comprehensively exchange views on bilateral ties and regional and global issues of common concerns, according to China’s Foreign Ministry.

Experts believe that it will be an invaluable occasion for the leaders of the world's biggest developed country and biggest developing country to compare notes face to face and build up personal relationships.

Before arriving in the US, Xi had wrapped up a three-nation tour to Latin America and the Caribbean that started on May 31. During the visits, China signed a series of agreements with Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica and Mexico on cooperation in various fields such as economy and trade, infrastructural construction, finance and energy.