US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will meet on Wednesday in the United States, the White House has confirmed.
The meeting in California, the first between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies in a year, will include talks on trade, Taiwan and managing their tense relations.
Xi plans to visit the US from Tuesday through November 17, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. He will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco and is scheduled to meet with Biden on the sidelines.
Xi and Biden have not met since attending the G20 summit in Bali last year.
Biden administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity said the two presidents would meet in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit, which kicks off on Saturday.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement the leaders would discuss the “continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication” and how they “can continue to responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, particularly on transnational challenges that affect the international community”.
“Nothing will be held back. Everything is on the table,” a US official told reporters.
