JAKARTA - Chinese leader Xi Jinping will arrive on the island of Bali, Indonesia on Monday for a long-awaited meeting with US President Joe Biden, ahead of the Group 20 Summit (G20).
The two leaders are expected to discuss Taiwan, Ukraine and North Korea's nuclear ambitions, issues that will also overshadow the G20 summit open on Tuesday.
Ahead of Monday's meeting with President Xi, President Biden told Asian leaders in Cambodia that US-China communications will remain open to preventing conflict, with tough talks almost certainly taking place in the days to come.
The United States will "competitively compete" with China, while "ensuring competition does not lead to conflict", Biden said, stressing the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait during his speech at the East Asian summit in Cambodia. The relationship between the two superpowers has slumped to its lowest point in decades, undermined by rising tensions in recent years over a number of issues, from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea, US trade practices and restrictions on Chinese technology.
But US officials say there have been covert efforts by Beijing and Washington over the past two months to improve relations.
"These meetings did not take place in isolation, they are part of a very sustainable process," said a Biden administration official.
"We have been involved in serious, sustainable, behind-the-scenes diplomacy," he said.
"I think we are satisfied with the seriousness brought by both parties to that process," he said.
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, who have made five phone calls or videos since Biden became president in January 2021, last met face-to-face during the Obama Administration, while he was still vice president.
Monday's face-to-face meeting will be held at The Mulia. Not expected to produce a joint statement, the White House said, but it could help stabilize bilateral relations.
The G20 Group, which covers a variety of countries from Brazil to India and Germany, accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and 60 percent of its population.
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