Biden, China’s Xi could meet in person in November in Southeast Asia

Chinese officials are making plans for President Xi Jinping to visit Southeast Asia and meet face-to-face with President Joe Biden in November, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources. It would mark the Chinese leader’s first international trip in nearly three years and his first in-person meeting with Biden since the U.S. president’s inauguration, the report said. A White House official, Kurt Campbell, on Friday told reporters that he could “confirm that the two leaders, when they spoke last, discussed a possible face-to-face meeting,” and “agreed to have their teams follow-up to sort out the specifics,” but said he didn’t “have anything further in terms of details on time or location.” The Biden administration “in the coming days” will announce a roadmap for trade negotiations with China, according to Campbell, whose title is deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the National Security Council.