Washington, 10 November 2023 (dpa/MIA) - US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will meet on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in California, the White House announced on Friday.

The two have not met in person since the G20 meeting in Bali in mid-November 2022. Relations between the world's two largest economies have long been very tense.

The points of contention have been a serious trade conflict, US sanctions against companies from China and an incident involving a Chinese spy balloon over the United States earlier this year.

Beijing's stance on Russia's war against Ukraine has also been criticized. China presents itself as neutral to the outside world, but is also considered Russia's most important partner and thus provides Moscow with backing.

The issue of Taiwan in particular harbours great potential for conflict. The island republic, which is only separated from China by a strait, has had a democratic government for decades. However, Beijing says it belongs to China.

The area is repeatedly the scene of military demonstrations of power. There are concerns that China could invade Taiwan like Russia did Ukraine.

Biden has assured Taiwan of military support, including from US troops, in case of Chinese invasion. Beijing, on the other hand, resents any "interference" by the US in its internal affairs.

The White House said that the two heads of state and government wanted to discuss "issues in the ... bilateral relationship, the continued importance of maintaining open lines of communication, and a range of regional and global issues."

The meeting between the two presidents has been in the pipeline for many months. The announcement was preceded by numerous meetings between high-ranking members of government on both sides. Biden sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, among others, to China.

Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met China's chief diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna and Malta. Wang Yi finally travelled to Washington at the end of October. All of this was in preparation for a meeting between the leaders.

High-ranking US government representatives dampened expectations of anything concrete coming out of the meeting, saying a list of results should not be expected.

"The goals here really are about managing the competition, preventing the downside risk of conflict and ensuring channels of communication are open." The goal, the officials said, is to stabilize relationships.

Photo: MIA archive