White House Announces President Biden, China President Xi Jinping to Meet In San Francisco

One of the most anticipated meetings between world leaders in recent years was confirmed by the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco at the APEC Summit next month.

While both President Biden and President Xi have met before, an in-person meeting between the two hasn’t happened since a G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia last November. Since then, tensions have remained high between the two countries, especially following a June incident in which Biden called President Xi a “dictator” and an incident in February when a Chinese spy balloon moved across Canada and the United States before being blown up by an F-22 off the coast of South Carolina. There are also continuing issues, such as concerns of of agreements between Russia, China, and North Korea in the past year and the escalation of military exercises nearby Taiwan.

Earlier this month, a meeting between the two at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco was hinted at, with the White House confirming then that it was in the planning stages. A meeting between the two was further speculated on last week following President Xi meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom during his controversial trip through the country. Newsom stated that he talked with Xi about the upcoming summit and said the the visit “helped thaw relations and builds on the Biden Administration’s efforts to continue an open dialogue with China.” Biden’s own meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington also helped formulate a meeting between the two.

On Tuesday, during a White House briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre formally announced that Biden and Xi would see each other during the summit, which is to be held at the Moscone Center from November 11th to November 17th. Due to current tensions between the two countries, as well as a number of incidents worldwide involving them in some way, such as the Israel-Hamas war and the Russian-Ukrainian war, the meeting is expected to be one of the most important between two world leaders in years.

“The president said he’s looking forward to meeting with President Xi,” said Jean-Pierre. “And so, not going to get into details about this meeting that’s going to happen, in next — well, tomorrow’s November — next month. It’s going to be in San Francisco, it’s going to be a constructive meeting. The president’s looking forward to it.”

Political event organizers told the Globe on Tuesday that such high stakes in-person international meetings are rare, and that San Francisco and the APEC summit are an odd choice of venue for such a meeting.

Biden, Xi to meet in San Francisco

“This is an odd one,” said political event organizer Jaya Shah to the Globe. “Usually, big meetings like this are either on neutral ground, planned out months in advance, or are impromptu. For neutral ones, think when Reagan and Gorbachev met in Iceland of all places in ’86. World War II, you had the Americans, British, and Russians meeting in Tehran or Cairo. Some are impromptu as well, like when Reagan met with Pope John Paul II in Alaska by chance and actually hammered a lot of things out. And then you have months in advance, which is the usual modus operandi for such big summits. Think G7 or G20 meetings.”

“This one, this is a tertiary meeting between countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. Big, but not huge. World leaders are not expected to attend, even if it is in their home country. This is the type of event that the President usually has the Vice President go to. And both Biden and Xi are not only going, but they’re going without the months of advance notice.”

“In addition, meetings are usually in more ornate or upper class areas. Someplace iconic. While the location itself isn’t set yet, the conference is being held at a convention center. The Moscone Center did hold the 1984 Democratic National Convention, but it is mostly known for having tech conventions. And adding to all that, San Francisco isn’t exactly in the best of shape right now, as they are struggling heavily as a city right now with things like homelessness and crime. All that, and two are meeting here. It’s very strange.”

Xi and Biden will meet in the city sometime between November 11th and November 17th.