US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold talks on Wednesday for the first time in a year. The two leaders are due to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday suggested the United States and China are in a complex and competitive relationship, which may easily veer into clashes or confrontation.
Biden on Tuesday said the aim of the talks is "To get back on a normal course, corresponding and being able to pick up the phone and talk to one another in a crisis, and being able to make sure that our militaries still have contact with one another."
Biden also said, "We're not trying to decouple from China, but what we're trying to do is change the relationship for the better."
Biden indicated the US will maintain economic ties with China while restricting exports of advanced technology, which can be adapted for military purposes.
Defense chiefs from the two countries have not met face-to-face since November last year. Their military hotline has been severed since last summer, after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Biden and Xi are also expected to discuss peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East.