President Xi Jinping will reportedly be holding talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Peru, in what’s expected to be their last official talks before Donald Trump takes office.

A senior Biden administration official briefed reporters about the meeting on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement.

"We expect this will be their last meeting as presidents," the official said. "With that in mind, we expect the president will use the opportunity to take stock of efforts to responsibly manage competition."

Trump has already signaled a confrontational approach with Beijing for his second term, picking a number of outspoken China hawks for key foreign and defense positions in his top team.

The Republican has also promised to slap 60-percent tariffs on Chinese imports, leading to fears of a renewed trade war.

The Biden administration official would not be drawn on whether he would try to advise China on how to deal with Trump – or if he would advise Trump on how to deal with China.

"This is a difficult, complicated, consequential relationship," the official said. "The president has been pretty clear that he even admits the competitive aspects of the relationship, we need to find ways to manage it responsibly."

Biden heads to Lima on Thursday for the APEC summit on Friday and Saturday for his swansong at the major gathering of Asia-Pacific economies.

The White House has been working for months to arrange a final meeting between Xi and Biden before the Democrat leaves office in January.

Saturday's talks will be the third meeting between Biden and Xi during Biden's presidency. They met in Woodside, California, last November on the sidelines of the 2023 Apec summit, and the leaders last spoke by phone in April. (Agencies)