The White House said the leaders will meet on Monday in Indonesia, which is hosting the G20 from Tuesday. It will be their sixth conversation since Biden entered the Oval Office, but their first face-to-face meeting since the then US vice president met Xi in Davos in January 2017. “Leaders will discuss efforts to maintain and deepen lines of communication between the United States and the DPRK [People’s Republic of China], to responsibly manage competition and cooperate where our interests align, especially on transnational challenges that affect the international community,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. He added that they will also discuss regional and global issues. The long-awaited meeting comes as the US and China grapple with a series of contentious issues that have pushed relations to their lowest level since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1979. It also comes weeks after Xi secured an unprecedented third term as leader, and after a surprise reprieve for Biden on Tuesday as Democrats avoided a midterm showdown. At a news conference on Wednesday, Biden said he would use the Bali meeting to outline the US position on the relationship with China and explore whether there is any chance of finding solutions. “What I want to do with him when we talk is lay out. . . what are each of our red lines, understand what he thinks are China’s critical national interests, what I know are the US’s critical interests, and to determine whether or not they conflict with each other. And if they do, how to solve it,” Biden said. A senior US official said Biden wanted to have a “strategic conversation” with Xi and hoped to “build a floor for the relationship”. One of the top topics on the agenda is expected to be Taiwan, over which tensions have risen dramatically over the past two years. When the leaders held a virtual meeting a year ago, Biden stressed the need to ensure competition did not “run into conflict.” The stakes became even more apparent in August, when China responded to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei with major military exercises that included firing missiles over Taiwan for the first time. Several senior US officials and military officers have warned that Beijing may be preparing to take military action against Taiwan sooner than previously thought. Shortly before he retired as head of US Indo-Pacific Command in April last year, Admiral Philip Davidson warned that China could invade the island by 2027. Last month, Admiral Mike Gilday, US chief of naval operations , said China could take military action before 2024. Recommended Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken recently said China wants to speed up the process by which it seeks “reunification” with Taiwan, over which it claims sovereignty. Underscoring that concern, Biden has said on four occasions that the US would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack. Asked Wednesday if he would give the same message to Xi in Bali, Biden replied: “I will have that conversation with him.” China accuses the US of relaxing its “One China” policy, under which Washington recognizes Beijing as the government of China and acknowledges, without endorsing, the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of China. Beijing is also angry about a draft bill on Capitol Hill that would approve $10 billion in funding over five years to provide arms to Taiwan. If the measure passes, it will mark a significant change in approach, as Washington has previously only approved the sale of US weapons that Taiwan pays for with its own funds. Follow Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter
