This marks their first engagement in over a year and comes as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
The White House had been preparing for this meeting for weeks, and the negotiations were finalized just before the summit’s commencement on Saturday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that the leaders would focus on maintaining open lines of communication and finding ways to manage competition responsibly. They aim to collaborate on shared interests, particularly addressing global challenges affecting the international community.
China’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed that Xi would be attending APEC at Biden’s invitation and would participate in the U.S.-China summit during his stay from Tuesday to Friday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement the leaders would discuss the “continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication” and how the they “can continue to responsibly manage competition and work together where our interests align, particularly on transnational challenges that affect the international community.”