US President Barack Obama (R) welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington September 25, 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

What do Sunnylands, Yingtai and Blair House have in common? They are venues that have hosted private dinners between President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama in the last three years. While some critics have described these shirtsleeve summits as "pomp-heavy", the truth is, they provide an intimate environment for unscripted talks between the leaders of the world's two largest economies.

In June 2013, Xi, then newly elected president, stopped on his way home from a tour of Latin America in California, where he and Obama met for more than eight hours, including an hour of one-on-one walk. They agreed to build "a new model of major-power relationship" that would steer clear of the "Thucydides' trap" - conflict between a rising and an established power.

In November 2014, after the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Obama stayed on in China for a state visit. He was invited into the Zhongnanhai leadership compound by Xi, where they had five hours of productive discussions, including an hour of late-night tete-a-tete, at Yingtai, a picturesque island. By then, the two countries had reaped some "early harvests" from the new model of China-US relationship. Building on their Sunnylands discussions, Xi talked about how China's experience informs present-day decision-making and Obama explained American values through the lens of history.

On the eve of the White House events during Xi's just concluded state visit to the US, Obama took Xi on a short walk from the West Wing to Blair House, where he has never hosted a foreign leader before. There, flanked by a 17th century Chinese screen, they sat down for dinner, which lasted three hours. After dinner, both welcomed the greater mutual understanding and trust that resulted from it.

Apart from the good optics of the venues and the "power strolls", the real achievement of the meetings lies in substance.