Xi has arrived VIDEO

Xi has arrived VIDEO

The presidents of the United States of America and China, Joseph Biden and Xi Jinping, will meet today at the Filoli estate, 30 miles south of San Francisco, where they will discuss bilateral and global issues for about four hours, sources familiar with the plan of the meeting told the Voice of America (VOA).

Biden and Xi will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by San Francisco.

The Filoli estate covers 265 hectares of nature and includes a colonial-revival palace with English Renaissance gardens, an orchard spanning 2.8 hectares and a 1.6 kilometer walking trail.

Xi and Biden arrived in San Francisco yesterday, ahead of a meeting that will include a working lunch, a tour of the property and a close meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Chinese President is scheduled to attend two receptions with select leaders in the American business community and society later today. A U.S. government official is expected to introduce Xi before the Chinese leader addresses "the American and Chinese people," one of the invited attendees told VOA on condition of anonymity.

Chinese officials sought a different location for the talks than the APEC summit and a longer meeting than last year's meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Biden and Xi spoke for three hours on the sidelines of the G20 summit last November.

The leaders of the United States and China are meeting at a time when there are many differences between the two countries, including regarding Taiwan, trade, technology and human rights.

U.S. officials emphasize that Washington's goal is to responsibly resolve the issue of competition with China. However, the Government in Beijing says that competition should not define the relations between the world's two largest economies.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said this week, during a press conference in Beijing, that the "competition of big countries" is against the current trend and does not offer a solution to "problems in America or challenges in the world."