Facing a tough reelection battle, Mayor London Breed is flying to China this Saturday with a 30-person delegation and kicking off a weeklong diplomatic trip to strengthen the city’s international image and promote local tourism.
The trip, which includes stops in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, is built on the momentum from last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. China’s President Xi Jinping met with Breed, President Joe Biden and other U.S. leaders during the event.
About 30 people, including City Administrator Carmen Chu, Chamber of Commerce CEO Rodney Fong, Bay Area Council COO John Grubb and several business and Chinese American community leaders, will join Breed on the trip.
“It’s going to be a great trip,” Breed said at a press conference Wednesday morning. “To receive an invitation to come to China to talk about these opportunities is critically important to the long-term success of San Francisco.”
The Mayor’s Office said that Xi and Chinese ambassador to the U.S., Xie Feng, formally invited her—but whether she will meet with Xi during her upcoming trip remains a question mark.
“I’m not certain right now,” Breed told The Standard Wednesday morning. “But as soon as I find out, you’ll be the first to know.”
Breed will be meeting with multiple Chinese airlines to help promote direct flights to San Francisco as well as business leaders and the mayor of Shanghai to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the sister-city relation. She will be back April 21.
