San Francisco has cleaned up several well-known homeless encampments ahead of China's dictator Xi Jinping's visit Wednesday - an effort Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted was only done to provide a good impression for other visiting leaders.

In the span of a few days, the city scrubbed seven intersections in the notorious  Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods - a decision Newsom this past week defended ahead of the anticipated Asian summit.

The cleanup left multiple overrun hotspots virtually unrecognizable, and left many asking why similar efforts had not been enacted sooner.

Appearing alongside San Francisco Mayor London Breed and other state and local officials Thursday - while the clean-ups were still underway - the 56-year-old attempted to quell such concerns.

He explained how officials had recently 'raised the bar of expectation' for the state of the city's streets, after finishing a $312million taxpayer-funded beautification project that has seen dozens more parks constructed across California.

First, Newsom addressed the elephant in the room - how several since-cleared encampments were being frantically addressed, in many cases, more than a year after sprouting up during the pandemic.

He assured onlookers concerned the changes were only temporary: 'I know folks say, "Oh, they're just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town."'