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President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet next month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning.
The two leaders haven’t spoken since they last met on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 economies in Bali, Indonesia, in November. Since then, tensions have heightened between Washington and Beijing over the downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon over U.S. territory and China’s stance on the war in Ukraine.
One of the U.S. officials familiar with the planning said there was an “agreement in principle” for Biden and Xi to meet in San Francisco. The final details, including the precise day, venue and other logistics, have yet to be announced.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.
Officials from both countries discussed some of the details Friday as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Secretary of State Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Biden also met with China’s top diplomat for about an hour.
After those meetings, the White House said that Biden will travel to San Francisco on Nov. 14 to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
While the talks with Biden would be the first time in a year Xi has met with his U.S. counterpart, it would come shortly after his meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who’s in Beijing this week for a trip aimed at promoting climate cooperation.
Biden’s meeting with Xi would also come just weeks after Xi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an international conference in Beijing. During the roughly three-hour meeting, Xi told Putin that China supports Russia in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, according to a readout published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry that did not mention Ukraine.
Biden recently submitted a new funding package to Congress seeking additional aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, another point of contention between the U.S. and China.
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