WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� and will meet Wednesday in California for talks on trade, and managing fraught U.S.-Chinese relations in the first engagement between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in .
The White House has said for weeks that it anticipated Biden and Xi would meet on the sidelines of in San Francisco, but negotiations went down to the eve of the gathering, which kicks off Saturday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement the leaders would discuss the 鈥渃ontinued importance of maintaining open lines of communication鈥� and how the they 鈥渃an continue to responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, particularly on transnational challenges that affect the international community.鈥�
China鈥檚 Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that Xi would attend APEC from Tuesday to Nov. 17 at Biden鈥檚 invitation and would take part in the U.S.-China summit.
Two senior Biden administration officials, who earlier briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said that the leaders would meet in the San Francisco Bay area but declined to offer further details because of security concerns. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in the San Francisco, the latest in a string of senior level engagements between the nations in recent months aimed at easing tensions. Yellen and He are set to continue talks on Friday.
The Biden-Xi meeting is not expected to lead to many, if any, major announcements, and differences between the two powers certainly won't be resolved. Instead, one official said, Biden is looking toward 鈥渕anaging the competition, preventing the downside risk of conflict and ensuring channels of communication are open.鈥� The officials said they believed it would be Xi's first visit to San Francisco since he was a young Communist Party leader.
The agenda includes no shortage of difficult issues.
Differences in the already complicated U.S.-Chinese relationship have only sharpened in the last year, with Beijing bristling over new U.S. export controls on advanced technology; Biden ordering of a Chinese spy balloon after it traversed the continental United States; and Chinese anger over in the U.S. by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this year, among other issues. China claims the island as its territory.
Biden will also likely press Xi on using China's influence on North Korea, during heightened anxiety over an increased pace of ballistic missile tests by North Korea as well as for its war in Ukraine.
The Democratic president is also expected to let Xi know that he would like China to use its burgeoning sway over Iran to make clear that Tehran or its proxies should not take action that could lead to expansion of . His administration believes the Chinese, a big buyer of Iranian oil, have considerable leverage with Iran, which is a major backer of Hamas.
Biden and Xi last met nearly a year ago on the sidelines of in Bali, Indonesia. In the nearly three-hour meeting, Biden objected directly to China鈥檚 鈥漜oercive and increasingly aggressive actions鈥� toward Taiwan and discussed Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine and other issues. Xi stressed that "the Taiwan question is at the very core of China鈥檚 core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.鈥�
Next week's meeting comes as the United States braces for a potentially bumpy year for U.S.-Chinese relations, with in January and the U.S. holding its own presidential election next November.
Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island鈥檚 decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don鈥檛 support. Under , the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn鈥檛 have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific. Biden intends to reaffirm the U.S. wants no change in the status quo, one official said.
Disinformation experts testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Beijing could aim to target the U.S., sowing discord that might influence election results at the local level, especially in districts with large numbers of Chinese-American voters.
The Biden administration has sought to make clear to the Chinese that any actions or interference in the 2024 election 鈥渨ould raise extremely strong concerns from our side,鈥� according to one official.
The officials also noted that Biden is determined to restore military-to-military communications that Beijing largely withdrew from after in August 2022.
All the while, the number of unsafe or provocative encounters involving the two nations鈥� ships and aircraft have spiked.
Last month, the U.S. military released a video of (3 meters) of an American B-52 bomber over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident. Earlier that month, the Pentagon released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that occurred in the last two years, part of a trend U.S. military officials call concerning.
The Pentagon has warned that the lack of military-to-military contacts 鈥渞aises the risk of an operational incident or miscalculation spiraling into crisis or conflict.鈥�
The officials also said Biden would underscore U.S. commitment to the Philippines, following a recent episode in which Chinese ships off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
The Philippines and other neighbors of China are resisting Beijing鈥檚 sweeping territorial claims over virtually the entire sea.
鈥淚 want to be very clear,鈥� . "The United States鈥� defense commitment to the Philippines is iron clad.鈥�
Both sides appeared to be carefully considering security for the meeting, declining to publicize the venue of the much-anticipated talks.
Thousands of people protesting climate destruction, corporate practices, the Israel-Hamas war and other issues are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit.
San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott said his department expects several protests a day but doesn't know which ones will materialize where and when. He said the city respects people鈥檚 right to mobilize peacefully but will not tolerate property destruction, violence or any other crime.
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Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed reporting.
Aamer Madhani And Colleen Long, The Associated Press
