- Homelessness in the city has been a target for US right-wing media and Chinese commentators have joined in the criticism
- Encampments were cleared from around the Moscone Centre where world leaders, including Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, meet this week
Why doesn't the US put up some money to resettle these homeless people?
President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold a high-stakes meeting Wednesday at a historic estate about 25 miles south of San Francisco, according to a report.
The two leaders are planning to meet for about four hours Wednesday at the Filoli estate, a lush, sprawling property located in the posh Bay Area suburb of Woodside, according to the Voice of America. The two will dine together during the meeting, which is happening alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Downtown San Francisco.
The meeting will include a working lunch, a stroll through the grounds of the estate and a smaller meeting with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Other officials will hold separate sessions on specific issues, VOA reported.
Filoli is described on its website as "a vibrant landscape of the Bay Area, situated on the unceded ancestral lands of the Ramaytush Ohlone, in Woodside, California."
The estate, formally called Filoli Historic House and Garden, boasts 654 acres along the slopes of California’s coastal range.
It was originally built in 1917 for William Bowers Bourn II, then owner of one of California's richest gold mines, as a private residence. In 1975, it was opened to the public as a nonprofit organization.
The two leaders will have plenty of space to stroll. The property features a 54,000+-square-foot Georgian revival-style mansion, 16 acres of English Renaissance gardens, a 6.8-acre orchard and a 1-mile trail, among other amenities.
The Wednesday session will be Biden and Xi's first face-to-face meeting since last year, when they met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Xi’s stop at APEC marks his first visit to the U.S. since an April 2017 meeting at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Florida resort. It is also the Chinese president’s first visit to San Francisco since 1985, when he was a small-town Communist Party chief.
Biden and Xi are set to discuss the importance of strengthening communication between the two superpowers and managing competition responsibly—along with a range of issues that could prove contentious, such as election interference, according to a senior administration official.
Biden is also likely to touch on China’s role in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the official said. The Bay Area meeting will be Biden and Xi’s seventh interaction since Biden took office.
See more pictures of the estate below:
Annie Gaus can be reached at annie@sfstandard.com
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