SEATTLE (AP) -- The latest on Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States (all times local):

6:15 p.m.

Students at a high school in Washington state gave Chinese President Xi Jinping a football and a personalized jersey when he visited the school as part of a whirlwind day of public appearances.

Xi meeting with students and teachers at Lincoln High School in Tacoma on Wednesday afternoon, toured a classroom and heard the school's drum line in the auditorium.

Xi first visited Tacoma 22 years ago while striking a sister city relationship between the port city and Fuzhou, China, where Xi was a regional leader.

Lincoln High School was the last public stop on a day that saw Xi meet with business leaders in Seattle and tour Boeing's airplane production facility and Microsoft's suburban campus.

Xi leaves for Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

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4:50 p.m.

Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, the founders of Facebook and Amazon, joined Chinese President Xi Jinping and other tech executives for a tour of the sprawling suburban Microsoft campus.

Xi was shown several demonstrations Wednesday of high-tech products, including a large device for data manipulation.

Protesters holding signs in English and Chinese lined the streets outside Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.

Xi was scheduled to conclude his public appearances in Washington state with a visit to a high school in Tacoma before heading to the White House.

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1:25 p.m.

China's president got to check out the inside of a new 787 being built for Xiamen Air (SHAH'-mehn), China's first privately owned airline, when he toured Boeing's massive assembly plant north of Seattle.

Speaking to hundreds of company workers, President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) said Wednesday his country will need about 6,000 new planes in the coming decades.

China wants to build many of its own aircraft, but Xi says the country will remain a key market for international plane makers for years to come. Boeing has estimated an overall price tag of $950 billion for the 6,330 new aircraft needed in China over the next 30 years.

China's state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. also signed a cooperation agreement with Boeing to build a 737 aircraft assembly center in China. That will anger Boeing's unions in Washington state, which fear a loss of U.S. jobs.

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1 p.m.

Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan has toured a medical center in Seattle with Bill and Melinda Gates, getting a close look at HIV vaccination research.

The group visited the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center on Wednesday. The Gateses are big contributors to the research center.

Peng spoke about collaborative work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and her own efforts toward an HIV vaccination.

The Chinese first lady also met with doctors who work on Fred Hutchison's China Initiative, which aims to help control infectious disease outbreaks in that country.

Peng is in Seattle with her husband, Chinese President Xi Jinping. They will travel to Washington, D.C., later this week to conclude their visit to the U.S.

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12:10 p.m.

Chinese President Xi Jinping first visited Tacoma, Washington, 22 years ago while striking a sister city relationship between the port city and Fuzhou, China, where Xi was a regional leader.

He is scheduled to return to Tacoma on Wednesday for the first time when he visits a high school.

The relationship forged two decades ago helped set the stage for the upcoming stopover.

The high school visit is Xi's most public stop in his three-day visit to Washington state before he heads to the White House later this week.

About 300 pre-selected student athletes and leaders are expected to greet the Chinese president at an assembly at Lincoln High School, where about three-quarters of the students are minorities.

School spokesman Dan Voelpel says it's a big day.

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11:20 a.m.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Chinese and American business executives in Seattle on his visit to the U.S. then touted his country's resilient economy.

Echoing statements he made in a speech Tuesday, Xi said Wednesday that China's economy has "big potential" and leaders of the nation will continue to remove barriers to foreign investment.

Xi also spoke about the need for stronger intellectual property protection and other reforms in his country.

Xi was set to visit the Boeing production facility in Everett later in the day then head to Microsoft's sprawling suburban campus east of Seattle before concluding his public appearances in Washington state at a high school in Tacoma.

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9:18 a.m.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is traveling throughout the greater Seattle area as he visits Boeing, Microsoft and a local high school.

Drivers are being warned to expect major delays Wednesday as highways and roads are closed to accommodate Xi's motorcade.

Xi begins his day in Seattle, addressing executives from top American and Chinese companies. He then travels north to Everett to tour the massive Boeing airplane production facility.

Next, he will head southeast to Redmond for an event at the sprawling suburban Microsoft campus.

Xi will end his day at high school in Tacoma, south of Seattle. Several hundred students at Lincoln High School were expected to greet him.