From the USA Today (link)
The visit
United States: The Bush administration says Hu is here for an “official” visit rather than a “state visit” ” the most formal and prestigious welcome. Hu is staying at Blair House, the guest house for esteemed visitors, and gets a 21-gun welcome. He won’t have a formal state dinner, only a working lunch. Michael Green, a former top Asia adviser on the National Security Council, says Bush would offend conservative supporters and anxious American workers by giving Hu too elaborate a welcome.
China: Whenever China’s state leader travels abroad, that’s a “state visit,” according to the Chinese government. Nevertheless, China isn’t making an issue of the White House’s refusal to call it such. In China’s state-controlled news media, the pomp of a White House reception will show that the West is giving China “face” and recognizing its emergence on the world stage as a major player.
