By Kathryn Watson, Gillian Morley
/ CBS News
Biden to meet with Xi Jinping at APEC summit
President Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, on Saturday, senior administration officials told reporters Wednesday.
Senior administration officials expect it to be Mr. Biden’s last meeting with Xi as president. This will be their third in-person meeting since Mr. Biden took office. The two leaders last met in person one year ago, in Woodside, California.
The meeting comes as Mr. Biden seeks to stabilize the Indo-Pacific region and manage competition with China ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
A senior administration official on a call with reporters Wednesday didn’t disclose what Mr. Biden would say to Trump about China in their White House meeting Wednesday. Trump is considering China hawks for his administration, including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, for secretary of state.
Mr. Biden is scheduled to leave for Peru Thursday. In his meeting with Xi, Mr. Biden plans to take stock of how the U.S. and China have worked together in the last four years on issues including military communications, counternarcotics and artificial intelligence, senior administration officials said. Mr. Biden also plans to bring up Russia, as Xi’s relationship with Russian President Vladmir Putin grows.
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
