San Francisco is beefing up its security measures as both US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet there this week as part of the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The meeting would be held against a backdrop of icy relations between Washington and Beijing, as well as wars between Israel and Hamas and Ukraine and Russia.
Biden and Xi would be expected to meet in person on the sidelines of the summit, with the White House announcement on Friday (November 10) that the meeting between Biden and Xi would be held on Wednesday.
"The Leaders will discuss issues in the US-PRC bilateral relationship, the continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication, and a range of regional and global issues," the White House said in a statement.
"Building on their last meeting in November 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, the Leaders will also discuss how the United States and the PRC can continue to responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, particularly on transnational challenges that affect the international community."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed added that the APEC summit was projected to "bring over $50 million in economic impact to the city."
[T]his is support for our small businesses & restaurants, people staying in our hotels, and tax revenues that pay for things like our parks, libraries, services, and police officers throughout our city," she said.
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Police officers walk near APEC Summit headquarters on November 11, 2023, in downtown San Francisco, California. The city took steps to clean up in advance of the APEC Summit, currently taking place through November 17.
Barricade Backlash
Metal-fenced barricades have been erected outside the Moscone Center, where leaders from the 21 APEC member nations would gather to talk about how to develop trade and economic growth across the Pacific region.
However, Fox News reported, the decision to erect temporary barricades faced criticism on social media.
Across X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, several accounts observed the installation of such barriers for the summit.
The account End Wokeness shared a video of the black fence barricades lining the streets of downtown San Francisco.
"San Francisco's homeless population was entirely cleared out for Xi Jinping," the account wrote. "The government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn't want to."
"US taxpayers' money is being used to protect the 'safety' of a communist dictator, suppressing the voices of the public living in America," Jennifer Zeng of the account "Inconvenient Trends," a social media account that shared information and insights about China and the Chinese Communist Party, added.
Zeng also stated that California Governor Gavin Newsom allegedly placed the barricades to prevent the public from protesting or getting too close to Xi's motorcade through San Francisco.
Aside from placing barricades, several reports added that the city's officials have been aggressive in clearing up homeless encampments, which have long plagued the city's downtown, through dedicated outreach intervention focused on the vicinity of the conference.
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