Xi lands in Peru for APEC summit and talks with Biden

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Peru on Thursday for an Asia-Pacific summit, where he is set to meet US President Joe Biden amid concerns over a potential trade war with the incoming Donald Trump administration, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

Xi arrived at an air base outside the capital Lima hours before the expected touchdown of Biden on the eve of a two-day heads-of-state meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping.

Biden and Xi are due to hold a bilateral Saturday, in what a US administration official said this week will likely be the last meeting between the sitting leaders of the world's largest economies before Biden hands the reins back to Trump.

The men will "take stock of efforts to responsibly manage competition," said the official.

APEC, created in 1989 with the goal of regional trade liberalization, brings together 21 economies that jointly represent about 60 percent of world GDP and over 40 percent of global commerce.

On Thursday, APEC ministers, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, held their own meeting behind closed doors in Lima to set the tone for the two-day summit to follow.

The APEC program was to focus on trade and investment for what proponents dubbed inclusive growth.

But uncertainty over Trump's next moves following his November 5 election victory now clouds the agenda -- as it does for the COP29 climate talks underway in Azerbaijan, and a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week.

With the US president-elect having signaled a confrontational approach to Beijing for his second term in the White House, Saturday's face-to-face between Xi and Biden will be a closely-watched affair.

News.Az