President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in San Francisco later this month, the White House announced on Tuesday.

The announcement came days after Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a visit to Washington last week to pave the way for the long-awaited talks between the two leaders.

"We're aiming to have a constructive conversation, meeting between the leaders in San Francisco in November," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told a daily press briefing.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said both China and the US agreed to work together towards achieving the Xi-Biden meeting in San Francisco.

He also referred to earlier comments by Foreign Minister Wang that “the road to San Francisco cannot rely on ‘autonomous driving’” and both sides must implement the consensus reached by the two leaders during their previous meeting in Indonesia last year.

Xi and Biden last met face to face in November 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.

The Apec summit will take place from November 15 to 17 in San Francisco. (Additional reporting by AFP/Reuters)
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Last updated: 2023-11-01 HKT 17:09