President Obama to meet with Chinese leader next month in Rancho Mirage

The mayor of Rancho Mirage said today that he”welcomes” the meeting of President Barack Obama and Chinese President XiJinping next month at the city’s Sunnylands estate.

“We will greet President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping withthe same careful planning and decorum as we have always manifested whenwelcoming dignitaries,” Mayor Richard Kite said in a statement. “We know thatthe leadership of Sunnylands will host an excellent meeting. It is our hopethat the meeting will result in a strengthened positive relationship betweenthe United States of America and the People’s Republic of China.”

The White House announced Monday that Obama and Jinping will meet atSunnylands June 7-8 for “in-depth discussions on a wide range of bilateral,regional and global issues.” The world leaders “will review progress andchallenges in U.S.-China relations over the past four years and discuss ways toenhance cooperation, while constructively managing our differences, in theyears ahead,” according to a White House statement.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement today sayingthat the two presidents “will have an extensive and in-depth exchange of viewson bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of commoninterest. It is believed that this meeting is important to the long-term, soundand steady development of China-U.S. relations as well as regional andinternational peace, stability and prosperity.”

Kite said Rancho Mirage “is accustomed to welcoming our nation’s chiefexecutives and foreign leaders.” Every president from Dwight Eisenhower toBill Clinton has visited Rancho Mirage “for both business and pleasure,” hesaid.

Gerald and Betty Ford also lived in the city for 28 years, he said.

The June summit will be Obama’s first meeting with Jinping since hebecame president of China in March. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon willtravel to Beijing next week to prepare for the meeting, according to the WhiteHouse.

Sunnylands is the desert estate of the late U.S. Ambassador WalterAnnenberg and his wife Leonore. The estate has hosted presidents, foreign headsof state, Supreme Court justices and celebrities. Sunnylands opened to thepublic last year.