Biden and Xi meet at a set for Hollywood and Tech-Titan weddings
The Filoli estate, a grand home and garden on 654 acres of rolling green grounds along the California coast, was a supporting character in the 1980s television drama “Dynasty” and the 2001 romantic comedy “The Wedding Planner.” It is the location for expensive weddings of Facebook executives, and the public can tour the gardens.
Just not on Wednesdays.
Top aides to President Biden have been working with Chinese officials for weeks to ensure that this manicured environment would provide the perfect backdrop for hosting a diplomatic summit between Mr. Biden and President Xi Jinping of China — two men who share a deep skepticism toward each other . but also a mutual belief that their countries must avoid their diplomatic and military interactions deteriorating from intense competition into outright conflict.
San Francisco, the host city of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation – known as APEC, a group of 21 countries that rim the Pacific Ocean – would be too bottlenecked and hectic to host such a meeting. US officials, mandated to plan a summit that would show Xi respect and keep him away from protesters, landed at the Filoli estate during their anxious planning process.
The site was attractive for a number of reasons. It’s nestled among the hills, one of the more isolated places in a densely populated corner of California. The White House kept the location of the meeting secret until the day before, presumably to prevent protesters from surrounding the location. No one was visible at the gates on Wednesday morning as Mr Biden’s motorcade approached the site, but some could be seen along the route from San Francisco.
Filoli is a massive estate amid some of the most expensive real estate in the country, built in the early 20th century by a family who made their fortune during California’s gold boom and wanted a retreat not far from San Francisco. William Bowers Bourn II, the original owner of the house, chose the name ‘Filoli’ by combining the first few letters of his personal motto: ‘Fight for a just cause. Love your fellow man. Live a good life.”
Today it is surrounded by wealth, making gold growth look like a low-stakes card game. The headquarters of Google, Apple and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, are all within a 30-minute drive. And the estate has become a favorite wedding venue for the new rich of the technological boom, with extensive gardens, a grand ballroom and plenty of room to wander.
The two leaders shook hands at the entrance to the 51,000-square-foot, 56-room house ahead of an extensive bilateral meeting, flanked by their security teams. Mr Biden is expected to hold a news conference at the Filoli grounds after meeting with Mr Xi, who is not expected to make any public comments.
Biden administration officials don’t know what the two leaders will eat for lunch if they get hungry during their extended meetings. “I don’t even know what I’m having for lunch,” an only mildly irritated, perhaps hungry-sounding John Kirby, a White House spokesman, told a reporter who asked.
But should the two leaders get hungry, the Filoli has a restaurant, chefs and a mobile wine cart on site.