San Francisco, USA - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of Kevin Xu, co-chair of 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting (APEC 2023) host committee, walking, talking with reporter; sign of APEC 2023
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Kevin Xu, co-chair, APEC 2023 host committee:
"I would say this is a wonderful opportunity for the city itself to really experience such a big international event since the establishment of the UN. Because we know that the city needs some ways to bring the vitality back."
3. Various of banners of APEC 2023
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Kevin Xu, co-chair, APEC 2023 host committee (partially overlaid with shots 5-7):
"By the end of the day, it is how people took those messages back, how people actually take home the information. I will recall a word from Governor Newsom during his visit in China. He said San Francisco has the first Chinatown [ever] built in the United States. And by having this opportunity to invite a delegation, especially a Chinese delegation to come to visit the city of [San Francisco], you basically have an opportunity to show them around the Chinatown and how Chinese people live here and how they carry their culture from their mother country to the U.S. And therefore you see a transformation, but also another way to reflect inclusivity. Inclusivity of culture that people from China actually built their Chinatown based on their vision. But how does Chinatown become a strong bond, just like the bridge we see that actually having a stronghold of the people, especially vitalities from the locals."
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
5. Various of banners in Chinatown with slogans welcoming APEC leaders
6. Various of lion dance
7. Performer striking gong
++SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++

FILE: San Francisco, USA - May 2023 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of Moscone Center, venue for APEC 2023
9. Street view
10. Banners on telegraph pole

San Francisco has the opportunity to show off the vitality of its historic Chinatown to the Chinese delegation soon to visit the U.S., according to the co-chair of the APEC 2023 Host Committee.

APEC, or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, will hold its 30th Economic Leaders' Meeting in the northern California City from Nov. 15-17.

In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Kevin Xu, the co-chair, reflected on the potential that the meetings present for the San Francisco.

"I would say this is a wonderful opportunity for the city itself to really experience such a big international event since the establishment of the UN. Because we know that the city needs some ways to bring the vitality back," Xu said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet in San Francisco with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden later this week. The city has the second largest Chinese-American community in the country.

California governor Gavin Newsom recently paid a visit to China and President Xi also met with the governor. Xu stressed that the meeting reflected the U.S. state's long-held ties with the Chinese people.

"It is how people took those messages back, how people actually take home the information. I will recall a word from Governor Newsom during his visit in China. He said San Francisco has the first Chinatown [ever] built in the United States. And by having this opportunity to invite a delegation, especially a Chinese delegation to come to visit the city of [San Francisco], you basically have an opportunity to show them around the Chinatown and how Chinese people live here and how they carry their culture from their mother country to the U.S.," said the co-chair.

"Therefore you see a transformation, but also another way to reflect inclusivity. Inclusivity of culture that people from China actually built their Chinatown based on their vision. But how does Chinatown become a strong bond, just like the bridge, we see that actually having a stronghold of the people, especially vitalities from the locals," he added.

Thirty years ago, meetings in Seattle resulted in the 1993 APEC Leaders' Declaration. At that time, the U.S. was an advocate for building an open multilateral trade system and strengthening cooperation, but a growing protectionist sentiment has taken hold in the country in recent years.

Now the eyes of the world are on San Francisco, with this year's meetings presenting a golden opportunity for the host city to shine and perhaps use the meeting as a catalyst for economic change.