Biden, Xi begin final meeting in Peru as Trump era looms

Joe Biden met Chinese President Xi Jinping for the last time as US president on Saturday, with the leaders' goal of lowering tensions before Donald Trump's inauguration challenged by fresh conflicts over cyber crime, trade, Taiwan and Russia.

Biden and Xi huddled on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru as they began their first talks in seven months, according to Chinese state media.

Washington is incensed by a recent China-linked hack of the telephone communications of US government and presidential campaign officials, and it is anxious about increasing pressure by Beijing on Taiwan and Chinese support for Russia.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te is planning to stop in the US state of Hawaii and maybe Guam on a sensitive visit that is sure to anger Beijing in the coming weeks, Reuters reported on Friday. Meanwhile, Biden met Taiwan's representative the summit, former economy minister Lin Hsin-i, who on Friday invited him to visit Taiwan in the near future.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. The US is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic recognition.

At the same time, Beijing's economy is taking a stiff hit from Biden's steps on trade, including a plan to restrict US investment in Chinese artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors and export restrictions on high-end computer chips. All of those topics are expected to figure into the talks, US officials said.

China routinely denies US hacking allegations, regards Taiwan as internal matter and has protested American statements on Sino-Russian trade. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

Reuters