Apec summit: Xi Jinping and Joe Biden set venue for meeting in bid to stabilise China-US relations
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden are set to meet at a historic private country house for a one-to-one conversation in an effort to stabilise relations between the two powers.
The two leaders are scheduled to meet at 10.45am on Wednesday local time (6.45pm GMT) at Filoli, an estate located in Woodside, California, approximately 40km (25 miles) south of San Francisco, a source told the South China Morning Post.
Xi will be accorded a state visit-level reception by the US side, according to the source, who added that Washington had offered this without being asked.
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The estate, which is known for the filming location for the hit 1980s American television drama Dynasty, was established as a private residence in 1917 and was acquired by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1975.
Xi Jinping arrives in California ahead of his meeting with Joe Biden. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Xi Jinping arrives in California ahead of his meeting with Joe Biden. Photo: Bloomberg>
The venue will give Xi and Biden a remote and private setting for their first face-to-face dialogue since their previous meeting in Bali last year, and it echoes the Chinese leader's previous meetings in similar settings - with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2017 and with Barack Obama at Sunnylands, another private estate in California, in 2013.
After Biden welcomes Xi to the estate, the formal meeting will begin at 11am, according to the White House. It is expected to last for four or five hours, with a press conference by the US President scheduled for 4.15pm.
Taiwan is widely believed to be top of the agenda. The White House has also said that the two presidents will discuss the strategic direction of the relationship, the importance of restoring military-to-military dialogue, Russia's war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The estate will provide a secluded setting for the talks, which are expected to last for four or five hours. Photo: Wikipedia alt=The estate will provide a secluded setting for the talks, which are expected to last for four or five hours. Photo: Wikipedia>
The two leaders will announce a landmark deal on the governance of artificial intelligence, as reported by the Post over the weekend.
The pair are also believed to have reached agreement on other issues such as increasing the number of direct flights, health research and tackling the fentanyl crisis in the United States.
Asked how he would measure success at the talks with Xi, Biden said on Tuesday: "To get back on a normal course - corresponding and being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another in a crisis - and being able to make sure that our militaries still have contact with one another."
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
