Biden meets with Wang in preparation for summit with Xi Jinping

(Patria) - U.S. President Joe Biden met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, holding hour-long talks that the White House described as a "good opportunity" to maintain open lines of communication between the two geopolitical rivals.

Wang earlier held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as the two countries seek to manage differences while laying the groundwork for an expected summit between Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping in November, Reuters reports.

Biden hopes to see Xi in the near future, White House spokesman John Kirby said, but could not say whether an agreement had been reached for the two presidents to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next month in San Francisco.

China has not yet announced whether Xi will attend.

Wang arrived at the State Department late Thursday, the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Washington during the Biden administration, and held a meeting with Blinken followed by dinner.