Biden, China's Xi to hold virtual meeting on Monday: reports

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a long-anticipated virtual meeting on Monday, according to multiple reports.

The reports, which began to emerge Wednesday, all cite anonymous sources. The White House has yet to officially confirm the meeting.

The Politico news website was the first to report the scheduling, saying Thursday that the timing is tentative.

The meeting comes as the world's top two economies clash on a wide array of issues, from China's territorial claims in the South China Sea to trade, Beijing's treatment of its minority Muslim Uyghur population and the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Xi and Biden last spoke by telephone in September in a "very familiar" and "the candid" conversation that lasted 90 minutes, according to the White House.

The US and China have since held talks concerning the format and timing of the presidential meeting.