San Francisco, CA—The planning of 2023 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting was kicked off today at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco with elected officials and business leaders gathering to demonstrate their support for the host city.
“We are honored and privileged that the White House has placed its trust in San Francisco to host this important international event,” said Mayor London Breed. “This opportunity comes at a critical time when we are putting all of our efforts into our City’s recovery. We are excited to showcase our civic pride, cultural diversity and creativity to the rest of the world. The partnerships and support from our business and community leaders have been significant as we are working on San Francisco’s recovery. As we look forward to hosting attendees from all around the world, I am confident that as they explore our many celebrated neighborhoods, they will discover all the great things San Francisco has to offer.”
San Francisco was declared in November 2022 to be the host city of 2023 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting by Vice President Kamala Harris who attended the 2022 Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on behalf of President Biden. Mayor Beed of San Francisco subsequently announced a serial of events would be held from November 12 through 18, 2023.
“The reason we chose to be a sponsor for APEC this year is not only we are Californians, but also our focus is on social responsibilities,” said Kevin Xu, CEO of MEBO International, and investor in the parent company of the Marina Times. “Throughout my experience in the past, I know APEC is not just the place for emphasizing trade and partnership, but also a dialogue platform where people share what they have been seeing around the world, especially people from civil society and people from nonprofit organizations.”
“I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for the City of San Francisco to be the core place where we can forge new ideas and new solutions for people around the world,” added Xu, who also serves as Co-Chair of Bay Area Council China Initiative Committee. “That will move everyone forward for a better future, a sustainable future and a resilient future.”
According to the City Hall of San Francisco, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with world leaders from APEC member economies, approximately 500 global CEOs, 1000 media representatives, and nearly 30,000 delegates from across 21 member economies are expected to participate in the 30th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
(A version of this article originally appeared at UNEKJC.com.)
