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The meeting took place on a gigantic 20th-century estate built by a family that made their fortune from the gold boom.
By Katie Rogers and David E. Sanger
Report from San Francisco
Filoli, a large space and lawn on 654 acres of lush land along the California coast, a supporting character in the 1980s TV series “Dynasty” and the 2001 romantic comedy “The Wedding Planner. “It’s been the high-profile wedding venue for Facebook executives, and the public can roam the lawn.
But on Wednesday.
President Biden’s most level-headed advisers worked with Chinese officials for weeks to make sure this well-maintained environment was the ideal backdrop to host a diplomatic summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, two men who display deep skepticism toward everyone. But also a mutual trust that their countries will have to prevent their diplomatic and military interactions from escalating from a fierce festival to open conflict.
San Francisco, the host city of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (known as APEC, an organization of 21 countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean) would be too crowded and frantic to host such a meeting. The officials, tasked with making plans for a summit that would show respect to Mr. Xi and keep him away from the protesters, brought their troubled plan-making process to Firoll.
The site is hot for a number of reasons. It is situated in the middle of the hills, one of the most secluded places in a densely populated area of California. The White House kept the location of the meeting secret until the day before, possibly to prevent protesters from surrounding the venue. They could be seen at the gates Wednesday morning as Mr. Biden’s motorcade approached the scene, but some may be seen along the highway from San Francisco.
Filoli is a giant estate in the middle of some of the most expensive real estate in the country, built in the early 20th century by a family that made their fortune from California’s gold boom and was looking to retire not far from San Francisco. William Bowers Bourn II, the first owner of the house, chose the name “Filoli” by mixing the first letters of his personal motto: “Fight for a just cause. Love your neighbor. Live a smart life. “
Today, it’s surrounded by wealth that makes the gold boom look like a low-risk deck of cards. The headquarters of Google, Apple, and Meta, Facebook’s parent company, are all within a 30-minute drive. And the estate has a wedding venue for the nouveau riche of the tech boom, with expansive gardens, a grand ballroom, and plenty of space to wander around.
The two leaders shook hands in front of the 54,256-square-foot, 56-room home before a lengthy bilateral meeting, accompanied by their security teams. Biden is expected to hold a news conference in the Filoli box after meeting with Biden. Xi, who is expected to make public comments.
Biden administration officials don’t know what the two leaders will have for lunch if they go through their long meetings hungry. “I don’t even know what I’m having for lunch,” said John Kirby, a White House spokesman, slightly exasperated. , perhaps hungry, to a journalist who had asked him.
But if the leaders are hungry, Filoli has a restaurant, chefs and a cellular wine vehicle on site.
Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent who covers a variety of topics, including foreign policy, domestic policy, and the Biden family. Her e-book “American Woman,” about her first time in the White House, will be published in February 2024. He joined The Times in 2014. Read more about Katie Rogers
David E. Sanger covers Biden’s administration and national security. He has been a reporter for The Times for more than 4 decades and is the author of several books on demanding situations for U. S. national security. Learn more about David E. Sanger
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