China is hoping for an improvement in its troubled relations with the United States. A foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing said on Monday before the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali planned meeting between China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden that China wants relations to be based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cooperation with the develop mutual benefit. "At the same time, we resolutely defend our legitimate rights and interests."

It is important for the US to work with China to deal appropriately with differences and advance cooperation. Misunderstandings and miscalculations should be avoided and relations put back "on the right path of healthy and stable development," said the spokesman. That is in the interest of both countries. "We hope the US can work with China and play its responsible role in maintaining peace and development."

It is the first meeting between the two presidents since Biden took office almost two years ago. Relations are at an all-time low. Points of contention are China's backing for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ukraine war, the ongoing trade war, tensions over democratic Taiwan and China's disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea. China accuses the US of wanting to hinder its rise in the world. The US, in turn, increasingly sees China as an economic rival and a threat to its security.