APEC Summit: Biden, Xi Agreement Will Not Stop Spiking Fentanyl Deaths

U.S. President Joe Biden greets Chinese leader Xi Jinping before a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' week in Woodside, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

The San Francisco and California that greeted Communist leader Xi Jinping as he met with President Joe Biden was not the idyllic one advertised by the White House. They were in town for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held at the Moscone Center and other locations in the city.

On the same day, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, “San Francisco is on track to see the deadliest year on record for accidental drug overdose deaths in 2023, newly released preliminary data from the medical examiner’s office shows. Between January and October, the city recorded 692 deaths—already higher than last year’s total of 649, and 642 from the year before.

“If the city continues its average pace of 69 deaths per month, it will close out the year with a total of 830 deaths. That’s 28% higher than last year’s total, and 14% higher than the previous peak of 726 deaths in 2020.”

The Chronicle’s article is based on a report, also from Nov. 15, from the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Look at this graph for August from the report, which shows the overdose crisis is hitting both sexes, all races, and all age groups except those under 15.

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the City and County of San Francisco

That’s the real San Francisco, California, and America.

Dinner With the Dictator

As reported by the White House, at 5:20 pm on Nov. 15 at Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside, Mr. Biden said, “First, I am pleased to announce that after many years of being on hold, we are restarting cooperation between the United States and the PRC on counternarcotics.” Meaning fentanyl.

“So, today, with this new understanding, 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,” according to Mr. Biden.

Notice the location is not San Francisco proper. Woodside is an exclusive community halfway between the City on the Bay and Silicon Valley—that is, between the two nodes of the world technology industry. Everything else in the world, including China’s factories, revolves around this area.

According to Wikipedia, “The population of the town was 5,309 at the 2020 census. The town’s population has a median household income above $250,000 and median home price above $5M. The town is known for its quaint and small town feel despite being in close proximity to Silicon Valley, and is home to many venture capital and investment firms.”

Does that sound like your town? Which probably is ravaged by fentanyl overdose deaths, deindustrialization from factories sent to Communist China, and an emerging one-party system similar to the one ruled by Mr. Xi and his Chinese Communist Party?

What are the chances of any Biden-Xi agreement stopping fentanyl from killing our people? I give it zero. Mr. Biden also said: “I’ve been meeting with President Xi since both of us were vice president over 10 years ago. Our meetings have always been candid and straightforward. We haven’t always agreed, but they’ve been straightforward. And today, built on the groundwork we laid over the past several months of high-level diplomacy between our teams, we’ve made some important progress, I believe.”

OK, then why over the past decade hasn’t he stopped the poison coming into our country and poisoning our people? As the San Francisco overdose numbers show, it’s just getting worse.

People demonstrate against Chinese leader Xi Jinping as he meets with President Joe Biden during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' week, in Woodside, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2023. Gilles Clarenne/AFP via Getty Images

Protests Greet Summiteers

Some people protested this obscene summit, albeit in many cases for the wrong reasons. Yet I found nothing as of the morning of Nov. 16 on the protests in the New York Times, the main news source for America’s elite. Only this in the so-called Newspaper of Record on Woodside: “Biden and Xi Meet at a Backdrop for Hollywood and Tech-Titan Weddings: The meeting took place at a giant 20th-century estate built by a family that made its fortune in the gold rush.”

At least Reuters headlined: “Xi Jinping focus of APEC demonstrations as he meets Joe Biden.” The story: “SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A demonstrator draped in a Free Tibet flag climbed a flagpole in front of the hotel where Chinese President Xi Jinping was due to meet with U.S. CEOs on Wednesday evening, capping a day of demonstrations against, and for, the Chinese leader.

“Protesters of the Israel-Hamas war, critics of the global response to climate change and other causes all turned out for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in San Francisco, where global leaders and CEOs offered tempting targets.”

ABC7 San Francisco reported: “There were also demonstrations Wednesday outside the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. It is being billed as the ‘biggest unwelcome protest’ against Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“There were dozens of protesters demonstrating for their people, who they believe are suffering under President Xi.”

Other reports:

• The Chronicle: “A human blockade and a punch to the face: APEC protest turns violent in downtown S.F.”
• ABC7 San Francisco: “Protesters confront APEC summit attendees, try to shut down San Francisco event.”
• Reuters: “Protesters gather in San Francisco during APEC summit.”
• USA Today: “Protesters in San Francisco attempted to shut down APEC summit: ‘We can have a better society.’”

Gov. Newsom: Standing in the Shadows

In a story I wrote for The Epoch Times last week headlined, “Watch What Gov. Newsom Does at APEC Summit in San Francisco,” I said, “My guess is he will play down his position and defer at every moment to Mr. Biden. He will try to stay in the background.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (R) and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom (L) look on as Chinese leader Xi Jinping (C) arrives at San Francisco International airport, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' week in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 14, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

I scoured numerous news stories and that seems to have been what happened. Here’s a typical one: “Joe Biden Parties With Gavin Newsom, Steve Kerr and Gwen Stefani in San Francisco.” The story: “President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party’s most prominent California leaders mingled with some of San Francisco’s most famous sports and tech figures Wednesday at a party at the Exploratorium. ...

“The party featured a dizzying array of food stations and open bars in between optical illusion exhibits, and Gwen Stefani performed some of her biggest hits on an outdoor stage at Pier 15 before a massive fireworks show lit up the sky over the bay. ...

“‘It’s a real honor to welcome all my leaders to the United States,’ said Biden, whose remarks were preceded by speeches from San Francisco Mayor London Breed, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Biden called Newsom ‘one hell of a governor,’ adding that one day the California statesman could have the job ‘I’m looking for.’ Biden also thanked Breed and then recounted his meeting earlier in the day with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was not present at the evening reception.”

It’s sometimes hard to parse Mr. Biden’s mumblings. But perhaps the job “I’m looking for” means his reelection campaign. But notice how Mr. Newsom, not Ms. Harris, the sitting vice president, comes off as Mr. Biden’s heir apparent.

Conclusion: Summit Does Nothing for Americans

If Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Mr. Biden and Mr. Newsom partied down with Gwen Stefani and tech billionaires while America is decaying before our eyes. These people have no idea what’s going out on out in the real world, including on the streets of Orange County where I live.

I know families still grieving from love ones who died from overdoses of the fentanyl Mr. Xi helped ship over to America. You probably know some victims, too.

Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Newsom have not eased California’s ludicrously high housing prices, the result of anti-market policies. That makes it nearly impossible for young people to get a start in life, get hitched, and start having kids. The federal budget debt of $34 trillion is choking future investment. The country is wracked with ethnic divisions made worse by the CRT, DEI, and other policies pushed by the two leaders.

California also is close to achieving the Communist Chinese model of a one-party state, as the Republican Party continues to wither. Is that the next step for politics in all of America?