A retreat for the rich and powerful

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Photo / Supplied

President Donald Trump has told visitors that his Mar-a-Lago retreat is set up perfectly for foreign visits, but the Chinese side was initially hesitant when word came that Trump would like to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping there, according to Administration officials.

Even after seeing images of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's back-slapping sessions with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in February, Chinese officials thought the oceanfront, Spanish-style club in Palm Beach, Florida, lacked the symbolic significance of the White House itself.

"They thought, no, it has to be the White House, the symbolism of that," a senior Administration official told Reuters. "They were ultimately convinced that this was worth doing. It's unusual because most foreigners realise that being invited to the president's personal place is a big deal."

Trump and Xi were to hold their first summit encounter beginning today at Mar-a-Lago, a property that original owner Marjorie Merriweather Post's estate willed to the United States Government for use as a diplomatic and presidential retreat after her death in 1973.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the Chinese side was fine with having the meeting there. "China respects the US side's arrangements," she said.

Topping the agenda at Mar-a-Lago will be US-China trade ties and US requests for China to help rein in its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.

Trump bought the estate in 1985 for US$7 million ($10m) and turned it into an exclusive club, which now boasts a membership fee of US$200,000 and is a haven for the tony Palm Beach set who pull up to the gate in Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.

"It's a place where he feels comfortable and at home, and where he can break the ice with Xi Jinping without the formality, really, of a Washington meet-up," said another senior White House official.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will join Trump and his wife, Melania, for dinner today and Trump and Xi will have a series of meetings there tomorrow. The entire visit will last less than 24 hours.

"I do think that Mar-a-lago will probably help enhance conversation between the two of them," said former US ambassador to China Max Baucus. "President Trump can show President Xi around, show him the digs. Trump is very proud of that, and President Xi will be interested in seeing all of that."

Trump's immediate predecessor, Barack Obama, used the Sunnylands retreat in Rancho Mirage, California, as a site for an informal summit with Xi in 2013.

While Trump treated Abe to golf, no such outing is planned for the leader of China.

Mar-a-Lago has already been the scene of some controversy for Trump.

When a North Korean missile test disrupted Abe's visit there, Trump and the Japanese leader were seen at a dinner table on the terrace discussing how to respond, as club members looked on from nearby tables.