Joe Biden, Xi Jinping set for high-stakes summit in San Francisco

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will try to stop the superpowers' rivalry spilling into conflict when they meet for the first time in a year at a high-stakes summit in San Francisco on Wednesday (Nov 15).

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will try to stop the superpowers' rivalry spilling into conflict when they meet for the first time in a year at a high-stakes summit in San Francisco on Wednesday (Nov 15).

With tensions soaring over issues including Taiwan, sanctions and trade, the leaders of the world's largest economies are expected to hold at least three hours of talks at a country estate on the outskirts of the city.

The carefully choreographed meeting on the sidelines of an APEC summit in California is due to start with a formal handshake at 10.45 am (Thursday, 2.45am, Singapore time), followed by bilateral talks behind closed doors including a working lunch.

The 80-year-old Biden held out an olive branch to Xi, 70, on the eve of the talks, insisting that the United States was "not trying to decouple from China" and wanted to improve the relationship.