China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday for a 36-hour visit including talks on boosting trade and investment, and maybe an NBA game featuring the LA Lakers.

Flying in from Iowa, which he visited after making the rounds in Washington, Vice President Xi was expected to announce a deal with a major film studio during his stay in the Los Angeles area, due to end Friday evening.

Outside the airport terminal before he arrived, a few dozen people put on a welcoming display in traditional Chinese costume and with a Chinese flag.

After he landed, about 100 pro-Tibet demonstrators gathered on an exit road waving Tibetan flags and placards, and chanting slogans, although it was unclear if Xi could see them as he left the airport.

His visit was due to begin with a tour of the Port of Los Angeles, the biggest US port in terms of container throughput and a major gateway for Chinese goods arriving from across the Pacific.

On Friday he will attend an economic forum in downtown LA, and is expected to watch a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns at the Staples Center before leaving for Ireland.

California governor Jerry Brown and LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are expected to use the trip to press for more Chinese investment in a planned high-speed rail line between LA and San Francisco.

Xi's trip is the first to LA by a top-level Chinese leader for 13 years, and California sees it as an opportunity to strengthen Chinese investment in the western US state's major shipping, tourism and entertainment industries.

Port of Los Angeles chief Geraldine Knatz underlined the importance of China in the development of the Port, which is undergoing a $121 million expansion to more than double its space to 142 acres.

"For many years China has been and continues to be the port's leading trading partner in terms of both imports and exports," she said, noting that trade with China through LA was valued at over $133 billion last year.

On Friday Xi is expected to announce a deal with DreamWorks Animation to build and operate a studio in Shanghai with two state-owned Chinese media companies, Shanghai Media Group and China Media Capital, media reports say.

The Chinese leader will also address a China-US Economic Trade Forum at a downtown LA hotel, along with US Commerce Secretary John Bryson and Villaraigosa.

The LA mayor, who traveled to China and other Asian countries in December, hailed the Chinese leader's visit.

"I am committed to strengthening our local economy by expanding Chinese trade, tourism and investment in Los Angeles and exploring ways that we can expand local business opportunities in China," said Villaraigosa.