AP: Biden, Xi agree on meeting next month
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U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in mid-November, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
Biden and Xi reached an agreement in principle to hold the meeting, but details on the exact date and venue are yet to be worked out, the official told AP.
The White House earlier said the U.S. and China were working towards a Biden-Xi meeting in November, but neither Washington nor Bejing have officially confirmed Xi would travel to the APEC summit.
The summit will gather representatives of 21 Pacific countries in San Francisco on Nov. 11-17.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is now in the U.S. for his three-day visit, where he's meeting U.S. officials. Wang met Biden on Oct. 27, the latest of a series of high-level contacts between the two countries as they seek to stabilize increasingly tense relations amid Russia's war against Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
"The President (Biden) emphasized that both the United States and China need to manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication," the White House wrote following the meeting.
"He underscored that the United States and China must work together to address global challenges."
The preparations for a face-to-face between Biden and Xi come less than two weeks after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin visited Beijing and held talks with the Chinese leader.
While China has officially positioned itself as a neutral party in the war and called for a diplomatic solution, Beijing has not denounced the Kremlin's aggression and has continued to develop close mutual ties.
Economic support from China is crucial for Moscow's funding of its war, as the Russian economy has been isolated by Western sanctions.
