Trump to meet with Chinese president at Mar-a-Lago next week

LANTANA, Fla. — President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, next week, according to Lantana Police Chief Sean Scheller.

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Scheller made the announcement Monday at the Lantana Town Council meeting, and said the Chinese president plans to stay at the Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa in Manalapan. He will be in town April 6 (Thursday) and 7 (Friday).

Scheller said fencing will be going up around the area starting on Tuesday, April 4. Lantana will lose about 80 percent of its beach parking for those two days, Scheller said.

“Just be prepared it’s going to be a traffic nightmare over there,” he said.

News site Axios was first to report the possibility of Xi visiting Mar-a-Lago.

The trip could be an indication of things to come as the Trump presidency moves forward, with Mar-a-Lago serving in the role once reserved for Camp David, a presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland where for decades presidents and cabinet members have hosted foreign dignitaries for high-level discussions.

Trump has yet to visit Camp David, instead opting for the familiar surroundings of his part-time Palm Beach home.

Trump already has set the stage for future summits with foreign leaders, after he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie Abe at Mar-a-Lago last month. The Abes arrived aboard Air Force One on Friday, Feb. 10 with the president and first lady and stayed through the morning of Sunday, Feb. 12. That Saturday, Trump and Abe played golf at the president’s Jupiter golf course, while the first ladies toured the Morikami Japanese Museum and Gardens in suburban Delray Beach.

Cox Media Group