President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Wang Yi when the top diplomat visits the White House this week, according to two US officials familiar with planning for the visit.

Foreign Minister Wang, who is set to meet Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, at the White House on Friday could see Biden in person at that time, according to Reuters news agency.

The White House has declined to comment.

It is unclear how substantial their interaction will be, but even an informal greeting would be Biden's senior-most interaction with the Chinese government since he briefly met Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi.

It comes as US and Chinese officials set the stage for a long-sought, one-on-one meeting between Xi and Biden at November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. They last met at a summit in Bali last November.

Wang is also set to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his trip to Washington this Thursday through Saturday.

President Xi had said on Wednesday China is willing to cooperate with the United States as both sides manage their differences and work together to respond to global challenges, according to state media.

Biden, for his part, told a press conference on Wednesday he plans to "compete" with China "according to the international rules – economically, politically, and other ways – but I'm not looking for conflict". (Reuters)