Staff Reports
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) gave a big, warm reception to Chinese President Xi Jinping when he landed in San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and his big meeting with President Joe Biden. Newsom, with his wife, first lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen by his side, was all smiles as he welcomed the Chinese delegation on the tarmac at the airport.
Newsom greets Xi at San Francisco airport before critical Biden meeting https://t.co/Qji1FTTR05
— Life as it goesTM (@lifeasitgoes12) November 15, 2023
This wasn’t the first time Newsom and Xi have hung out. They spent some time together last month in Beijing, and the White House got a bit of heat this week about whether they knew about Newsom’s meetings with Xi. National security adviser Jake Sullivan assured the press that they totally knew about it and had all the deets, even pointing out that Ambassador Nick Burns was there too.
But, Sullivan was quick to keep things hush-hush about the details of their chit-chat, saying it was all super top secret diplomatic stuff. Newsom’s trip to Beijing also made headlines, especially when he had a little tumble over a Chinese kiddo during a game of basketball with some officials. Oops!
As if that wasn’t enough, Newsom cracked some jokes about how people were saying San Francisco was all spick-and-span just because Xi was coming to visit. He sassily responded, saying it’s just like how you clean up your own house when guests are coming over. Quips all around!
