The White House is making plans for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco next month as the two countries seek to stabilise troubled relations, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Ties between the world’s two largest economies have been strained in recent years due to a number of issues, including Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, allegations of spying, human rights issues, and trade tariffs, among others.

The newspaper, which cited senior unidentified U.S. officials, quoted one of them as saying the possibility of a meeting was “pretty firm.”

“We’re beginning the process” of planning, the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not comment specifically on the newspaper report. A spokesperson for the embassy said in an emailed statement that the two countries remained in communication and needed to expand “good faith” cooperation. The White House did not have an immediate comment. Foreign Media