Chinese flags parading through the streets of San Francisco ahead of President Joe Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping have been met with backlash as videos circulate on social media.
“Oh look, San Francisco turned into China for President Xi’s arrival,” the Post Millennial’s Katie Daviscourt wrote on X, along with a video of Chinese flags lining the city’s streets as Xi’s motorcade drives by.
“Finally revealing it’s [sic] true colors,” she added.
“San Francisco looks so much better with Chinese flags. Not a single American flag or homeless person in sight,” commentator Ian Miles Cheong said.
As Biden and Xi have their first face-to-face meeting in a year during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in San Francisco, city officials have been criticized for cleaning up San Francisco’s homeless problem for the arriving foreign leaders.
Barricades and fencing have been put up where homeless encampments once plagued the sidewalks.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) responded to the backlash at a press conference, saying “it’s true” that San Francisco has been cleaned up for all “those fancy leaders who are coming into town.”
“Because it’s true,” the progressive governor said. “But it’s also true, for months and months and months prior to APEC, we’ve been having different conversations.”
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Biden and Xi’s meeting is “seen as a crucial step in restoring normal communications between the U.S. and China and to prevent the rivalry between the two countries from escalating,” reports Newsweek.
Xi is reportedly set to remain in California until Friday.
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