Hundreds of people packed a restaurant in San Francisco’s Japantown on Monday night—all clamoring for the open bar and caviar appetizers, and all under the name of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which is taking over the city this week.
Of course, California—which may soon become the fourth-largest economy in the world—cares about trade, investment and the economic development of the Pacific Rim. But for many locals, APEC is more about having fun. Perhaps the most frequently asked question this week is: “What are the events you are going to?”
It’s often followed by the most frequent reply: “I need an invite to that.”
Fiona Ma, California’s state treasurer and the host of Monday night’s reception with the pro-business nonprofit GlobalSF, will go to “a select number of events” this week.
“There are so many,” Ma told The Standard. “We really wanted to do events to welcome the business folks and have people network.”
Ma said she was heading to a dinner with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen right after the reception, an event with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the de Young Museum on Tuesday and a high-profile dinner with China’s President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
Many other fancy parties were also happening around town Monday night, including the APEC business leader gala at the Westin St. Francis hotel and a party at the Ferry Building sponsored by APEC donor and San Francisco-based company Visa. Starting Tuesday, with the arrival of President Joe Biden and other global leaders, hot-ticket events begin in earnest.
Mary Jung, a local Democratic Party power player, said she’s going to Biden’s reception at the Exploratorium on Wednesday and a reception with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on Friday.
“I am limiting to one event per night,” Jung said. “I work a day job!”
She also praised the city for cleaning up the streets for APEC and trusted San Franciscans could maintain the situation even after the summit.
Biden will also host a fundraiser with Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, while a dinner for high-level heads of APEC member economies is scheduled for Thursday night at the Legion of Honor.
Local residents without these exclusive invites can still party somewhere else. Steven Lee, a longtime nightlife advocate and current San Francisco port commissioner, said APEC should increase business for local bars and restaurants. He hoped more visitors would patronize stores inside the APEC security zone in Central SoMa.
Lee also organized multiple Chinatown events for foreign press to learn about the community’s history and culture. But when asked about his own APEC party schedule this week, he joked that he wasn’t invited to any.
"I have a commission meeting until 6 p.m. on Tuesday," Lee told The Standard, holding a drink at the bar. "I am not a VIP."