US President Biden to meet Chinese President Xi in Bali on November 14

US President Joe Biden would meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on November 14 on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Indonesia during which they will discuss ways to work together where their interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community, the White House announced on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid the fractious relationship between the two nations.

“The Leaders will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the United States and the PRC (People's Republic of China), responsibly manage competition, and work together where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

“The two Leaders will also discuss a range of regional and global issues,” Pierre said.

This would be their first in-person meeting after Biden became the US President in January 2021. The two leaders have spoken over the phone as many as five times.

Xi’s last face-to-face meeting with a US leader came in June 2019, when he reached a truce with former president Donald Trump that led to a trade deal six months later. The bilateral ties fell into a downward spiral as Covid-19 spread around the globe.

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Biden and Xi discussed a possible face-to-face meeting during a two-hour call in late July.

Since then, tensions escalated over a visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. The White House called China's military exercises that followed an "unprecedented pressure campaign" for the self-governed island that China claims as its own.

China slapped sanctions against Pelosi and launched live-fire military drills around the island. But Beijing also blamed Biden for not intervening.

Xi cut off talks with the administration on a number of important issues, including counternarcotics and climate.

Biden has also raised Beijing's ire by suggesting repeatedly that the US will defend Taiwan if attacked by China.

The White House has repeatedly said the remarks do not represent a change in US policy, but China has not been satisfied.

The Biden administration also imposed sweeping curbs on the sale of advanced chips to China, a move designed to maintain the US’s technological edge over Beijing.

“Throughout his presidency, President Biden has made it a priority to keep lines of communication open with the PRC at all levels to responsibly manage the competition between our two countries,” a senior administration official told reporters during a conference call.

The meeting will be a part of the ongoing effort to build and manage relationships with China. Biden believes there is no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy to carry these discussions forward, said the official.