By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will likely meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the last time on Saturday, senior administration officials said, as Beijing prepares for a potentially more confrontational era with Washington under Donald Trump.

The two leaders are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru, covering a range of global hotspots, including rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. He did not confirm the meeting date.

This will be Biden and Xi’s first known interaction since their phone call in April.

The two leaders have sought to keep tensions at bay over issues ranging from Taiwan to the South China Sea to Russia, prompting America to demand more help from China to stem the flow of fentanyl, the leading cause of drug overdoses in the United States.

Sullivan said Biden will raise concerns about a China-linked group that recently infiltrated the private telecommunications of prominent U.S. officials.

“The President has demonstrated that the United States and the People’s Republic of China can manage our differences and prevent competition from escalating into conflict or conflict, and he does so by ensuring open lines of communication are maintained,” he said.

Officials also said China would increase its support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and the presence of more than 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Biden and Xi resumed leader-level talks last November that yielded greater cooperation on counternarcotics efforts but little movement on larger issues such as a potential conflict over Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its own territory.

The Democratic administration finalized rules last month restricting U.S. investments in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and semiconductors in China, which are scheduled to take effect in January. This comes after Biden increased tariffs on more goods from China.

Both steps were rejected by China as inefficient.

Republican Trump has vowed to impose a 60 percent blanket tariff on U.S. imports of Chinese goods as part of his “America First” package of trade measures. Beijing opposes these steps.

“Transitions are uniquely consequential moments in geopolitics, a time when rivals and rivals can see possible opportunities because there is a change in government here,” Sullivan said.

“One of the messages that President Biden will convey is that we must maintain stability, clarity, and predictability throughout this transition between the United States and China.”

Trump’s early personnel picks also included several hawkish voices on China in senior positions, such as U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser.

Xi reportedly called Trump last week to congratulate him on his election victory on November 5. Trump will take office on January 20.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Jeff Mason; Editing by Jamie Freed, Susan Heavey and Jonathan Oatis)