Chinese President Xi Jinping is no Frank Underwood, the leader of the Asian nation of more than 1.3 billion people told a Seattle audience on Tuesday.

Xi is scheduled to be hosted at the White House in the coming days -- only weeks after it was revealed that President Barack Obama is considering economic sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals believed to use cybertheft to steal U.S. trade secrets.

But the leader's comments came in response to concerns that his government's campaign against corruption was aimed at stamping out political opponents, not graft, the New York Times reported. "In this case, there is no 'House of Cards,'" Xi insisted.

In a nod to his audience of local business executives, the 62-year-old president also referenced the 1993 Hollywood classic "Sleepless in Seattle," acknowledging that the movie had made the Washington city "almost a household name in China," according to the New York Times. Famous names among those in attendance included Satya Nadella, Microsoft's chief executive, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Politico reported.

Xi, however, also addressed the cybertheft controversy, which at one point seemed to threaten his entire state visit to the United States, the Washington publication recalled.

"China is a strong defender of cybersecurity," the Communist Party general secretary underlined. "China is also a victim of hacking attacks. The Chinese government will not, in any way, participate, encourage or support the theft of commercial secrets by anyone."

Xi's host at the White House, meanwhile, has not shied away from Underwood references either. In fact, Obama in April went so far as to attempt what Mashable called a "questionable" impression of the nefarious Netflix character.

"Barack Obama tried his best at a southern drawl to imitate one of Frank Underwood's infamous 'House of Cards' fourth-wall-breaking scenes," the website judged. "Aligning yourself with the ruthless fictional politician of the moment seems like a bad branding move for a president, but hey, it's his second term."