Biden and Xi to Meet in Peru on Saturday, Trump Announces 60% Tariffs on Chinese Imports

(Patria) - U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet on Saturday at the APEC summit in Peru, which will likely be their last meeting before Donald Trump returns to the White House, U.S. officials said, AFP reported.

The meeting will be the third between the leaders of the world's two largest economies and their second since a major round of talks in California a year ago.

"We expect this to be their last meeting as presidents," a senior U.S. administration official told reporters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday.

"With that in mind, we expect the president to use the opportunity to look at efforts to responsibly manage competition."

Trump has already signaled a confrontational approach with Beijing in his second term, choosing numerous openly anti-China "hawks" for key foreign and defense positions in his inner circle.

The Republican has also promised to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese imports, raising fears of a renewed trade war.

A Biden administration official did not answer a question about whether he would try to advise China on how to deal with Trump, or advise Trump on how to deal with China.

"This is a difficult, complicated, consequential relationship," the official said.

"The president has been quite clear that even as we acknowledge the competitive aspects of the relationship, we must find ways to manage it responsibly," he added.

Biden leaves for Lima on Thursday for the APEC summit on Friday and Saturday, a major gathering of Asia-Pacific economies. He will then become the first U.S. president to visit the Amazon rainforest in Brazil before traveling to Rio de Janeiro for his last G20 summit.