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>> curbing illicit fentanyl production and reopening military ties tonight. we're learning the details of that high stakes meeting between the world's two most powerful leaders. just hours after president biden met with china's president xi jinping. good evening. thank you for joining us. i'm dan ashley. >> and i'm ama daetz. it's been the most anticipated event of the apec summit. and in about 15 minutes, president biden is expected to deliver remarks about what was accomplished during what's being called the woodside summit. and as you see there, we are monitoring it and we'll bring you that live. we also have abc seven news team coverage anchor kristen sze is at the moscone center, which has been the epicenter of this conference. and of course, protesters have gathered outside each big event, suzanne phan is covering that part of the story. >> our diane lim has all the details on the welcome reception hosted by president biden at the explorar atrium. >> first, let's begin with zach fuentes, who joins us live from outside filoli estate, where president biden and president xi met today. zach >> yeah, we're about a mile away

from filoli estate where that meeting took place today. if you caught any of our coverage from earlier today, you would have seen hundreds of people here, some in support of president xi's visit, some protesting at the wind and the rain here has since cleared some of that out. but for president biden, like you said, this was the most highly anticipated event of his bay area visit. and today we finally got that first look at the two presidents having that face to face meeting ready, ready, close. president joe biden and chinese president xi jinping greeting each other in front of filoli estate in woodside to host you in the united states is a great honor and a pleasure. our cameras captured the moments. both motorcades arrived. the two later gave opening remarks before launching into their hours long discussion. >> is, mr. president, we know each other for a long time. we haven't always agreed, which was not a surprise to anyone. but our meetings have always been candid, straightforward and useful. >> through a translator, president xi also opened with words expressing hope for a

productive meeting for two large countries like china and the united states, turning their back on each other is not an option. >> following a number of events, including the chinese spy balloon earlier this year, the relations between the two countries has become even more strained since the two presidents last spoke. >> xi acknowledged that the two countries have key differences. >> it is an objective fact that china and the united states are different in history, culture, social system and development path. however for as long as they respect each other, coexist in peace and pursue win win cooperation, they will be fully capable of rising above differences. >> biden has said he'd see the meeting as a success if the two countries could get back on a normal course of correspondence, emphasizing a need for both china and us militaries to have contact with each other. >> i think it's paramount that you and i understand each other clearly. leader to leader with no misconceptions or miscommunication right now, there are reports that an agreement will be reached to

help stop the flow of chemicals used in the production of illicit fentanyl. >> still, biden has even more on his agenda, including talks on responsibly managing economic competition between the two countries. also concerns over taiwan's pursuit of formal independence. ji's goals are said to include addressing what it sees as a us refusing to relax certain trade restrictions and looking for a pledge from the us to not encourage taiwan to pursue formal independence. once now in the hours since the meeting wrapped, we have been learning some new details about what happened of note. there has been some very positive progress towards president biden's goals as it relates to fentanyl and the source chemicals that are produced that lead to fentanyl that eventually makes its way here to the us. now we are expecting to hear from president biden in just a little bit. that press conference has been pushed back an hour from earlier. initially, we were hearing 415, now we're hearing 515. so we will be sure to bring that to you and hopefully hear more about what took place. just a mile down the road from me right now, live in san mateo county, zach fuentes, abc seven news. okay, zach, thanks very much. >> from woodside to san

francisco, president biden's next big event of the day is getting underway along the embargoed and that's where he and dr. jill biden are hosting a welcome reception at the exploratorium, which is right across the street from our studio at abc7 and our very own diane lim will be attending. she is live for us with a preview of what to expect. diane, it should be fascinating and fun. >> oh, absolutely. and dan, i feel like the luckiest woman alive because after i'm on tv with you here for the news at five, i get to go across the street and enjoy the party and check it out. there has been security all day long. and you can see right now those doors opened at 430 for guests and they stretch all the way down the embarcadero for the star studded event. since the wee hours of the morning, the corner of front street and the embarcadero has been abuzz with excitement. >> it's really nice to see all the police and the coast guard and the different law enforcement agencies here feel like really good to be here

right now. hundreds of california highway patrol and sfpd officers secret service members and even a security drone are all in place for wednesday night's apec leaders. >> welcome reception at the exploratorium, which happens to be across the street from the abc7 news studios. the party hosted by mayor breed for president biden and the first lady is attracting a lot of attention from visitors. did you know you were coming in the midst of apec? >> no, not until we got here. >> we drove into the city over the. which bridge was it? bay bridge over the bay bridge. and it was like, fine. like we were expecting to hit traffic and stuff and it was absolutely fine. >> was hundreds of guests are expected to attend, including community members from different neighborhoods of san francisco. they'll be serenaded by superstar gwen stefani, whom we caught doing a soundcheck. live on the day while we did talk to some who weren't pleased about the commotion. overall, this was the sentiment of this is wonderful for san francisco. >> and i hope that all of these

people here will bring the city back to what it what it has potential to be. >> back out here live where we can hear some protesters down the street and also see a coast guard boat along with gwen stefani set up for the big night. before i leave you, dan, i don't normally do this for the news, but i am going to hand over this microphone to my friend and colleague, j.r stone, because, well, we couldn't quite let you leave without showing everybody what you'll be wearing to this presidential party because there's got to be a lot that goes into this. absolutely. i barely can fit into this outfit, but i scrounged it up. i'm going as a san francisco resident. so ta da! not my usual attire. >> we also noticed there's a very big line right now. so let's be hopeful that you don't have to wait in line. maybe they'll see the dress and let you right through. >> right? i don't know. i'm not exactly a vip. i'm just the woman who works across the street. we'll see what happens. >> well, i'll let you throw it back to dan, thanks. >> j.r. dan, we'll send it back

to you in the studio. >> all right. thank you, don. you look lovely as always. thanks for the assist. j.r. and don, have a great time now because of the exploratorium event part of the embarcadero is closed between broadway and battery street. you see it on this map here. the road is expected to reopen tomorrow. >> so all week long, protesters have been using the spotlight of apec to draw attention to their messages. and right now, a demonstration is underway in front of the ferry building calling for an immediate cease fire in gaza. abc seven news reporter suzanne phan is there and joins us live with the latest. suzanne >> so demonstrators are here at the ferry building a very, very short distance away from where the world leaders will be gathering tonight. >> and in the distance, you can hear them chanting. you can hear them singing, and they're hoping their messages will be heard. now, across the city today, we heard all sorts of messages and saw all sorts of displays. gather around folks, esteemed guests of impact, an unusual invitation in the group called climate defenders shared this video with abc seven news today. the climate activists are

criticizing citibank and exxonmobil. bill. they held a faux wedding ceremony at new montgomery and market street in san francisco. financial district activists say both companies prioritize profits over people they're rallying to demand that both companies stop funding fossil fuels. with so many world leaders in san francisco for this week because of the apex summit protest hours say this is a prime opportunity to make sure they're seen and heard. the world is watching you at the chinese consulate. more than 300 people protested. they include people from tibet, hong kong and chinese dissidents. >> we've gathered here to rise up against xi jinping and send a very loud and clear message that he is not welcome here in the free world. >> they want china's president, xi jinping, to hear their demands free tibet, free hong kong, free east turkistan. and they want two of the world's most powerful leaders to remember what they believe is most important. >> we're here at apec protesting on the day of the bilateral meeting between joe biden and dictator xi hu. let them know that human rights must be front

and center at any discussion, economic or military. a nob hill. >> more demonstrators frustrated with chinese president xi, but they're sharing their protests in a different way, holding their signs in silence while practicing falun gong. these people are so peaceful, but they have been, you know, severely persecuted in china. >> we know there are like over 20, 21 countries. and the leaders that will be here, i want to let them know that. okay, so the persecution is still going on and people really need to, you know, you know, speak out and again, here at the ferry building tonight, a protest many, many children among the demonstrators here tonight. >> and there is a plea for the by the protesters for a cease fire in gaza. now we can also tell you there are hundreds of children's shoes that are being on being displayed here along with children's art. organizers say this is a tribute, a way to remember all those killed in gaza. we're live at the ferry building, suzanne phan, abc seven news. suzanne thank you for that. >> and we do have complete

coverage of aipac on our website and we're updating it as events unfold. you'll find it all on the front page of our website, abc7 news.com, right. >> as you probably saw on zach's live shot from woodside. the rain is back in the bay area. here's a live look at the conditions outside for details on that, let's go to abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel. sandhya. >> yeah. dan and get ready for widespread rain across the bay area. >> it's already starting to move in on live doppler seven. let me show you where the heaviest rain is falling right now. it is shaded in yellow as we look along the san mateo coast, you will notice that heavy rain coming down right around half moon bay, fairway drive street level radar as we go into the north bay, we're seeing some steady rain right around larkspur mill valley. and as we track that batch of moisture, it is moving in the direction of san jose by 5:25 p.m, 536 into fremont. it's all in association with this low pressure system off the coast. it's a light level one storm. there have been lightning strikes off the california coast, so that can't be ruled out as we go hour by

hour, you will notice the steadiest of the rain is over the next couple of hours and then it becomes more showery in nature later on tonight. the winds have picked up, gusting out of the southeast, 33 mt. diablo, 30 on sweeney ridge. it's a level one storm through tonight. rain heavy at times, especially for that commute, gusty winds and a chance of isolated thunderstorms. here's a live view from our tam cam where the rain is back. we're not done with this yet. i'll be back with the rest of your timeline looking into the weekend coming up. ama >> all right, sandhya, thank you so much for checking on our weather. >> we are we are waiting now for president biden to give some remarks after that high stakes meeting today with chinese president xi jinping there speaking at the filoli estate in woodside. >> and this is the setup. it was delayed because they had to move inside because of sandy had just detailed and you saw from zach fuentes live shot the rain has started to come down. it was windy and gusty in woodside. so that's why they've moved it moved this inside outside. there's a lot for president

biden to talk about here after a long and what we believe was productive and certainly courteous meeting with the chinese president today. >> that's right. and we are hoping to find out more. we have not received word exactly what he is going to be discussing, cussing, but the two leaders talked about curbing fentanyl use. obviously, that is a big problem here in san francisco. so we know there have been so many overdose deaths. we report on it all the time in our building a better bay area. so they are hoping to move forward. they said it was great. president biden said it was great to meet face to face. this is the first time they have done that in quite some time and a little more than a year. >> and president biden stressed that he believes it is important that they continue this open, candid dialog, egg and fentanyl was one of the topics. also, of course, as tensions in the middle east, greater communication between these two superpowers. some trade issues as well as well as artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence, how to handle that. that is a big one as well.

taiwan which has been a sticking point, obviously, between the us that really has sort of chip killed our relationship, our our relationship with taiwan. and it's chilled our relationship with china. and so that's a big part of the discussion today, we believe, and something i don't know if the president will address here in a few minutes, but i'm sure he'll give us a good summation of what they discussed it. >> and this is something that we have been monitoring and watching and people have wanted to see these two leaders come together and see that they could cooperate because there has been a lot of tension between the two countries. so this is a nice showing that we can move forward and communicate with each other well. >> and i think that is what the president stressed is communication, because, of course, things even spiral even more downward when there's no communication. and this is the first time they've seen each other. they've spoken presumably on the telephone, but the first time they've seen one another in about a year. and there have been some some tensions militarily with close calls with

chinese aircraft and operating in close proximity, proximity to americans. so the american fighters and american military personnel. so there's just been a level of tension that has been on the rise of late. and that's why this meeting we have talked about it as being a high stakes meeting, because it really is exactly that, because there are these significant issues between these two. joe giant superpowers . and the relationship has been somewhat chilly of late. so that this is this meeting was seen as something of perhaps an icebreaker to move forward. >> yeah. and as you mentioned, you know, talking more about china being more transparent militarily on nuclear things and our kristen sze has been out at moscone center all week covering this extensively, talking to people about what they expect to see from this meeting. kristen do we have you? >> yes, i can absolutely hear you. and i'm watching just as you are, the podium waiting for

that president biden's statement after his four hour meeting with chinese president xi jinping. everybody here at the moscone center from all the tech ceos who are here to foreign ministers, to other stakeholders, they are all watching what will happen from today's biden and xi meeting. right so one very positive development already is that you heard both talked in more conciliatory tones after several years of ratcheting up the tension. right. you heard biden talking about how we may be competitors, yet at the same time, we must work together. and there are places for collaboration on. and then you heard xi saying, well, we may have different philosophies. is that doesn't mean that we have to essentially be enemies and that there are also places where we can join together. and so at the conclusion of this, we understand that when biden, you know, called with xi answer, this was a question that was posed. they said the high level folks on both sides said, we're confident that if the leaders either leader decided they want to speak now, that we'll be able

to arrange that. and that conversation opening, that line of communication is absolutely everything, because that had been missing for the past few years, especially not only the leader to leader level, but military leaders, especially after the chinese spy balloon caused a lot of tension and distrust on both sides. the military has stopped communicating, and that's worrisome for the security of the world because you have that whole pacific region and, you know, seeing sort of the military buildup on china's side and there have been accusations on both sides about incursions without that military conversation where the american commander can pick up the phone and say, i want to talk to my counterpart in china, that can only lead to more problems. so this is a big step. in addition to the military aspect, of course, there is already agreements coming out on climate, both sides issued a statement about committing to renewables. we're looking at video from earlier today at filoli. as you reported, all day of the two presidents meeting,

which almost seemed inconceivable if you would have asked a year ago based on the headlines that were coming out of the two countries and that was another point that i. oh, sorry. >> go ahead. i was going to say, kristen, but while we're looking at this video, i want to make the point that i was impressed with. pleased to see actually there seemed to be a real warmth when they met and shook hands. president biden clasped xi's hand with his left hand as well. it was a warm greeting. it seemed like it was a very cordial reintroduction. and meeting today, it seems that your impression? >> absolutely. and you know that is mirrored by a lot of the chinese journalists that i've been talking with here in terms of what they're reporting back at home, it seems that the headlines have really taken a turn for the positive and more optimistic right. talking about how they expect progress, how the frosty relationship had thawed out. and even chinese netizens, you know, they get on weibo, they make a lot of comments. and in the past few years, it had been casting the

us and us media in a different light. this time it is definitely more of a tone of let's see if we can make something happen here. and it seems like there is eagerness on both sides to have that happen. but dan, make no mistake, even though that surface level can lead to a deeper level of cooperation underneath, there is still undercurrents of a lot of issues and tension and problems. right? disagreements on everything from taiwan to. >> yeah, i was going to add that that that this handshake does not make does not thaw the relationship. they're still very deep seated issues between our two countries. >> but it's a symbol of hope. >> and i think a lot of people are seeing it that way, that we can move forward, make progress. and at least, as you said, at least we are communicating. >> and we looked i should point out that it looks like we just saw an aide put down a folder here on the podium, which may be the president's remarks. so that could be an indication that we're close to president biden coming out here and giving his talk. yes kristen, i wonder i wonder if you've seen so many

interesting things there on display at the moscone center that you've been reporting on the last couple of days. is there a sense beyond just what's happening at the moscone center? was there some anticipation about this meeting between the two presidents today? there at moscone center, among the attendees? >> absolutely. dan, your guess is absolutely right on. even the tech ceos that i managed to talk to, they were basically saying, look, we are the two biggest power players right now, the us and china. right? so in the past few years, investments on each other's side had gone down, like china had gotten a lot less investments from us companies in turn, that's really slowed their economy, which a lot of people, analysts are guessing, you know, hypothesize that this is partly what's prompting this new willingness to collaborate and be open from the chinese side, from president xi's side. right. because back at home, the economy is struggling quite a bit and a lot of young people

are out of work. and that can sow discontent. and, dan, as you know, when the young people are discontent, that's when social unrest can happen. >> no, it's true. >> and china's economy is in significant trouble. it's been reading a good bit about that lately. they have some real issues. and of course, because of our close economic ties that has a direct effect on our economy as well. so it's very much in both of our interests to cooperate as much as possible. >> yeah. so we've just gotten the two minute warning. so the president should be coming out shortly. yes everything goes together. that's why there are 21 member economies meeting here in san francisco. and you can see people in the room are starting to stand up. so we are awaiting the president. >> and here is the president. >> here he is. so let's listen in. >> please have a seat. as you know, i just concluded several hours of meetings with president xi, and i believe there are some of the most constructive and productive discussions we've had . i've been meeting with president xi since both those for vice president over ten years ago. our meetings have

always been candid and straightforward. we haven't always agreed, but they've been straightforward. and today build on the groundwork related over the past several months of high level diplomacy between our teams, we've made some important progress. i believe. first, i'm pleased to announce that after many years of being on hold, we are restarting cooperation between the united states and prc on counter narcotics use in 2019. you may remember china took action to greatly reduce the amount of fentanyl shipped directly from china to the united states. but in the years since that time, the challenge has evolved from finished fentanyl to fentanyl. chemical ingredients and pill presses which are being shipped without controls. and by the way, some of these pills are being inserted in other drugs like cocaine. and a lot of people are dying more people in the united states between the ages of 18 to 49 die from fentanyl than from guns. car accidents or any other cause, period. and so today,

with this new understand ing, we're taking action to significantly reduce the flow of precursor chemicals and pill presses from china to the western hemisphere. it's going to save lives. and i appreciate president xi's commitment on this issue. president xi and i tasks our teams to maintain a policy and law enforcement coordination on going forward to make sure it works. i also want to thank the bipartisan congressional delegation in china. led by leader schumer in october for supporting efforts of this effort. so strongly. secondly and this is a critically important we're reassuming military to military contact, direct contacts, as a lot of you know who follow this. that's been cut off and it's been very worrisome. that's how accidents happen. misunderstandings so we're back to direct open, clear, direct communications and on a on a direct basis is vital miscalculations on either side

can are can cause real, real trouble with a with a country like china or any other major country. and so i think we're made real progress there as well. and thirdly, we're going to get our experts together to discuss risk and safety issues associated with artificial intelligence. as many of you who travel with me around the world, almost everywhere i go, every major leader wants to talk about the impact of artificial intelligence. these are tangible steps in the right direction to determine what's useful and what's not useful, what's dangerous and what's acceptable. moreover there there are evidence of cases that that i've made all along. the united states will continue to compete vigorously with the prc, but we'll manage that competition responses early so it doesn't veer into conflict or accidental conflict and where it's possible , where our interests are coincide. and we're going to work together like we did on

fentanyl. that's what the world expects of us. the rest of the world expect not just in people in china, in the united states, but the rest of the world expects that of us. and that's what the united states is going to be doing today. president xi and i also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues, including russia's refusal and brutal war to stop the war in a brutal war of aggression against ukraine and conflict in gaza. and as i always do, i raised areas where the united states has concerns about the prc's actions, including detained in ex and exit banned us citizens, human rights and corrective coercive activities in the south china sea. we discussed all three of those things. i gave them names of individual urls that we think are being held and hopefully we can get them released as well. no agreement on that. no agreement on that. i also stress the importance of peace and stability in the taiwan straits. it's clear that we object to be to beijing's non-market economic practices and disadvantaged that

disadvantage american businesses and workers. and that will continue to address them. and i named what i thought a number of those were. i welcome the positive steps we've taken today. and it's important for the world to see that we're implementing the approach in the best traditions of american diplomacy. we're talking to our competitors and the key and just just talking just made blunt with one another. so there's no misunderstanding as a key element to maintain global stability and delivering for the american people. and in the months ahead, we're going to continue to preserve and pursue high level diplomacy. the prc and both directions to keep the lines of communication open, including between president xi and me. he and i agreed that each of one of us could pick up the phone and call directly and would be heard immediately. and that's now i'd like to be able to take some questions, if i may. and i'm told that dmitri of the financial times has the first question. thank you. and

as an irishman, i apologize for bringing the rain. >> well, holy god, i wouldn't have called on you if i'd known that. >> now i'm teasing. go ahead. fire away. >> president biden, given that america is playing a key role in two major global crises in ukraine and in gaza, does that alter your previous commitment to defend taiwan from any chinese military action? and did xi jinping outline the conditions under which china would attack taiwan? >> look, i reiterate what i've said since i've become president. what every previous president of late has said that we maintain in the agreement that there is a one china policy and that i'm not going to change that. that's not going to change. and so that's about the extent to which we discussed it next question. sorry, was bloomberg. mr. president, it appears, among other issues, wih

president xi over fentanyl would require will require a lot of trust and verification to ensure success curbing those drug flows . >> i'm wondering after today and considering all that you've been through in the past year, would you say, mr. president, that you trust president xi? and secondly, if i could, on taiwan, you've you and your administration officials have warned president xi and china about interference in the upcoming elections. i'm wondering what would the consequences be if they do, in fact, interfere in those elections? well, i may have had that discussion with them to made it clear i didn't expect any interference any at all. >> and we had that discussion as he was leaving. look do i trust i trust. but verify, as that old saying goes, that's where i am. and you know, we're in a competitive relationship. china and the united states. but my responsibility is to make it make this rational and

manageable so it so it doesn't result in conflict. but that's what i'm all about. that's what this is about to find a place where we can come together, where and where we find mutual interest. that. but most importantly, from my perspective , that are in interest to the american people. and that's what this is about. and that's exactly what we'll do. you know, we're in a situation where we agreed that it fentanyl as its precursors will be curbed substantially. and the pill presses, that's a big that's a big movement. they're doing that . and by the way, you know, i won't i guess i shouldn't identify where it occurred but john i know to people near where i live, there are kids literally as i said, strange. they woke up dead. some of that insert it in where the young man did or not

insert it in a drug. he was taken fentanyl. again, i don't i hope you don't have any experience with knowing anyone, but this is the largest killer for people in that age category. and you know, i thing i think is most important is that. since i spent more with president xi than any world leader has, just because we were vice presidents, his president with president hu, i'm not making a joke. president hu and president obama thought we should get to know one another. what an appropriate for the president of the united states to be walking dealing with the vice president. so we met. if i'm not mistaken, i think it was 68 hours of just face to face, just us and a simultaneous interpreter. so i think i know