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Asian leaders enjoy warm welcome at a historic venue

RANCHO MIRAGE (CALIFORNIA) — Evoking a childhood living in Indonesia, United States President Barack Obama said he picked a setting for this week’s summit that was as warm as the hospitality of South-east Asia — the sprawling Sunnylands estate that has become a sort of western version of Camp David.

RANCHO MIRAGE (CALIFORNIA) — Evoking a childhood living in Indonesia, United States President Barack Obama said he picked a setting for this week’s summit that was as warm as the hospitality of South-east Asia — the sprawling Sunnylands estate that has become a sort of western version of Camp David.

“You and the people of ASEAN (Association of South-east Asian Nations) have always shown me extraordinary hospitality and I hope we can reciprocate with the warmth of today and tomorrow, which is why I did not hold this summit in Washington,” said Mr Obama as he opened the two-day meeting in the California desert, where it was over 25°C.

Of Washington, he said: “It is cold there, it is snowing, so welcome to beautiful, warm Sunnylands.”

Underscoring the relaxed atmosphere, all leaders wore open-collar shirts with their suits. Mr Obama himself wore a blue-checked shirt, no tie and a navy suit.

Sunnylands was the winter retreat of the late billionaire Walter Annenberg and his wife, Leonore, who was chief of protocol under President Ronald Reagan. The Annenbergs were the consummate power couple and the artwork at the estate reflects their diverse interests, including paintings by Renoir and Van Gogh, a statue of Rodin’s Eve, and sculptures from China’s Tang Dynasty. On the walls are photographs of industrialists, politicians and celebrities.

Built in the 1960s, the 25,000sqf home is surrounded by a nine-hole golf course, 11 man-made lakes and olive groves.

As the summit opened, the leaders sat around a U-shaped table, with Mr Obama at its head. The table looked on to the garden and beyond that snow-capped Mount San Jacinto. In the garden was the small red bench where Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mr Obama sat during their landmark meeting in 2013.

Outside the ground yesterday, several hundred people gathered to protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal, which includes the US and several ASEAN countries. Some Americans fear the trade deal will lead to an influx of cheap imports, rendering local businesses uncompetitive and sending jobs abroad.

Earlier, Mr Obama had greeted each leader outside as they exited their motorcade and walked down a red carpet, passing three Marines holding the flags of the US, ASEAN and whichever country the leader represented, reported the White House pool.

Mr Obama chatted with the leaders as he led them in. He asked Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak about his wife. Mr Najib responded that “she’s in LA”.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told Mr Obama he had “spent the last four days in San Francisco”. Mr Obama greeted Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bahasa Indonesia, and then asked: “How is your family?”

He also asked Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei about his family, saying “How’s it going? How’s your wife?”

The summit has generated a buzz in the area, with the local Desert Sun newspaper running an article about Air Force One and other “pretty awesome aircraft” flying in, including the Sultan’s white Boeing 747-430, with its royal crest. AGENCIES

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