Biden, Xi virtual meeting set for Monday, White House confirms

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet virtually early next week, the White House confirmed on Friday amid strained US-Sino relations.

The long-anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world's top two economies will take place Monday, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

"The two leaders will discuss ways to responsibly manage the competition between the United States and the PRC, as well as ways to work together where our interests align," Psaki said, using an acronym to refer to China by its formal name, the People's Republic of China.

"Throughout, President Biden will make clear U.S. intentions and priorities and be clear and candid about our concerns with the PRC," she added.

The meeting comes as the world's top two economies clash on a wide array of issues, from China's territorial claims in the South China Sea to trade, Beijing's treatment of its minority Muslim Uyghur population and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Xi and Biden last spoke by telephone in September in a "very familiar" and "the candid" conversation that lasted 90 minutes, the White House said at the time. The US and China have in the interim held talks concerning the format and timing of the presidential meeting.