Biden Opens Opportunity To Meet Xi Jinping In November

JAKARTA - US President Joe Biden said on Friday (6/10) that there was a possibility he would hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next month in San Francisco, California.

"There are no arrangements for such a meeting, but it could happen," said Biden in his office, the White House, when responding to journalists' questions reported by ANTARA, Saturday, October 7.

These comments came after a number of US media reported on Thursday (5/10) that a meeting between Biden and Xi was being prepared.

If the plan materializes, the meeting would take place amid efforts by Washington and Beijing to repair relations that have soured over a series of disputes.

Relations between the US and China are tense due to their disagreements over several issues, such as trade, the Taiwan issue, and the incident of a Chinese spy balloon that crossed US territory in February.

The balloon incident prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his planned visit to China.

However, after that Blinken visited Beijing to speak with Chinese officials.

Several other senior Biden administration officials also visited, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Biden's special envoy for climate change John Kerry.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to visit Washington before the end of this month, and the trip could be an important step towards making a Biden-Xi face-to-face meeting happen.

Biden and Xi last met in person at the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022. At their first meeting, the two leaders expressed optimism regarding the prospects for improving bilateral relations between the two countries.