US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have agreed to resume high-level military communications, according to officials and reports
China had severed this vital line after Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in 2022. The US has been keen to restore it to avoid potential military clashes
The meeting at a historic estate near San Francisco marks the first time the rival leaders have spoken in person in more than a year
Relations plummeted when the US accused China of sending a spy balloon across its airspace earlier this year, but have since started improving
The world leaders were also expected to discuss the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, international trade, fentanyl trafficking, and Taiwan
That brings to a close our live page coverage of today's meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
Thank you for staying with us.
For more, you can read about the four things we learned from today's meeting.
And here's a wrap of the day's highlights.
The last thing that is on Xi's schedule today is the dinner he is having with top US business executives.
So who's on the guest list? According to US media outlets and reporters, Elon Musk of X (formerly known as Twitter) is due to attend, as is Apple's Tim Cook.
Steven Schwarzman of private equity firm Blackstone Group, Larry Fink of investment management firm BlackRock, and Evan Greenberg of insurance company Chubb, are also going.
Representing the US government at the dinner is Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce.
Tessa Wong
Asia Digital Reporter
President Biden refers to Xi Jinping as a 'dictator'
As we start to wrap our live page coverage, let's zoom in on something that Biden said.
For weeks leading up to the tightly choreographed meeting, many of its outcomes were signalled well in advance. Biden also struck a careful tone for most of his press conference.
Then, as he was walking off, he delivered a last-minute surprise: calling Xi a dictator once again.
Coming right after a cordial meeting aimed at resetting US-China relations, it echoes the circumstances of the first time he did this. That was right after Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Beijing to mend ties following the spy balloon incident.
It would anger the Chinese again, and they may complain vociferously. But would this derail what has been achieved? It's not likely. Both sides have clearly signalled that despite their rivalry, they understand the need for cooperation.
Still, it certainly isn't a good look for Biden, who could be accused by Xi's supporters of being rude and two-faced.
And pity the American officials who are probably now scrambling to do damage control, as they did in the past when they rowed back statements Biden made on defending Taiwan.
Image source, Ed Lawrence/BBCMr Jiang, 30, hopes the US and China can expand economic cooperation
As our correspondent just wrote, there was little talk about any headway on trade and other economy-related sticking points in the Biden-Xi meeting.
But when our colleagues in Beijing asked locals what they hoped the US and China would prioritise in their talks, closer ties and economic cooperation emerged as a major point.
Here’s what we heard:
Ms Wu, 35: The tariffs are not good for both. The whole environment is not good. We should cooperate more on economy.
Mr Jiang, 30: We can work on together on import and export. If so, all of us can have more business and make more money.
Mr Li, 24: China needs to be more open, so we can have more cooperation for better win-win achievements. We should strengthen people-to-people exchange, such as increasing the number of direct flights… And more tourism. More Chinese people can travel to the US and more American people can come to China. It will facilitate mutual understanding.
Ms Zhang, 30: We should cooperate more on trade.
Nick Marsh
Asia Business Correspondent, Singapore
For all the progress on the diplomatic front, nothing's been resolved in terms of trade and competition between the world’s largest two economies. These issues run deep.
Right now, China’s economy is not in a great place. Growth levels have slowed, youth unemployment is at an all-time high and millions of people are waiting for unfinished houses to be built. Xi Jinping can’t fix that with one meeting, but it was a good time to burnish his image as a powerful and serious statesman back home.
Xi also had the task of convincing American business to keep faith with China. Fears over the economy and its increasingly authoritarian political system has led to a decline in direct foreign investment. We shouldn’t overlook the fact that, after meeting Biden, Xi dined with American business leaders. They were keen to hear any reassurance whatsoever that big profits can still be made in the world’s most populous country, in spite of the difficult relationship between Washington and Beijing.
Ultimately, the US and China remain firmly enmeshed in an epic battle for global economic supremacy. How this pans out will be the overarching story of the coming years and decades.
President Biden's remark about President Xi being a dictator has not appeared in Chinese state media yet - or much of Chinese social media, but that is not surprising given how trightly censored it is.
But some people who managed to catch the comments have been reacting with a mix of disbelief and amusement. "Biden said the wrong thing behind the back, not nice," a user wrote on Weibo, China's equivalent of X.
"What's Biden's problem? The progress that was made after so much effort could be all gone because of his one sentence," another Weibo user wrote.
"If he said 'Xi is China's emperor' Xi would have loved it," another user joked on X, which is banned in China.
And censors seem to have been alerted. James Mayger, a Bloomberg reporter in Beijing, posted on X that Bloomberg TV's live feed of President Biden's press conference was cut near the end in Beijing - that's the point when Biden made the remark.
Image source, Reuters
Stephen McDonell
China correspondent
What we are seeing from Chinese state media shows us that Xi is trying to reassure the Chinese people that he is doing all he can to steer Beijing's relationship with Washington into calmer waters.
Even though Xi is an all-powerful leader, he is feeling a lot of pressure at home. Politically speaking, he has had a terrible last 12 months, having to remove senior leaders he appointed.
China's economy has also been in a pretty difficult situation. It has been struggling with a real estate crisis and record youth unemployment, among other issues.
In some sense, the global economy is dependent on China's economy picking up. And naturally, relations with the US are crucial for this.
Therefore, many around the world are watching this Biden-Xi summit to see what these leaders can do to reassure us on that front. There may not be any breakthroughs, but the most important thing is that these two leaders are talking.
With so much tension around the world at the moment, we need the two big superpowers to be communicating with one another.
As we have been reporting, Taiwan was a key topic in the meeting between Presdients Biden and Xi.
Biden told reporters earlier that he had "stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan strait", while talking to Xi.
The BBC heard from political scientist Jessica Chen Weiss, who believes that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is far from imminent.
Given China's economic problems at home, such an invasion would carry too much risk, she told the BBC's Newsday programme.
The fact that China and the US have been holding high-level talks - including the on-going Xi-Biden summit - signals that both sides are trying to "head off the possibility of a crisis that neither side wants", said Weiss, a professor of government at Cornell University, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute Center.
We may see China soften its hawkish approach towards the US in the days to come, Weiss added.
Image source, Getty Images
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Asia correspondent
The resumption of high-level military communication between the US and China will be welcomed in Taiwan.
The Biden-Xi meeting is closely watched on the self-ruled island, which sees ties between Washington and Beijing as absolutely critical.
Beijing, which has long claimed Taiwan, has in the past year repeatedly rehearsed encircling Taiwan with fighter jets and navy ships. China has also doubled down on threats against Taiwan ahead of the island's presidential elections in January 2024.
A revival of the hotline between the American and Chinese militaries could help defuse any unplanned escalation.
The softening of China's tone in dealing with the US is also seen as a positive thing in Taiwan.
Tessa Wong
Asia Digital Reporter
With the meeting and press conference over, it appears Xi and Biden are now heading to their own separate engagements.
The BBC understands that Xi will be guest of honour at a ritzy gala at the Hyatt, where he is expected to hobnob with titans of the US business community. Tickets were reportedly selling for $2,000, and went up to $40,000 to sit at Xi's table.
He isn't the only one who's throwing a bash. Biden is also holding a party at the Exploratorium for Apec leaders where "prominent members of every level of the Democratic Party" are invited and pop singer Gwen Stefani is said to be performing, according to US media., external
After a day filled with meetings with US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping still has one more item left on his agenda: a dinner with US business leaders.
The dinner is hosted by the US China Business Council and the National Committee on US-China Relations.
Xi is expected to give remarks at the dinner, which will be attended by executives from several different sectors, including those in banking and technology.
According to the invitation, the dinner is set to start at 19:30 local time (3:30 GMT).
Image source, Getty ImagesXi and Biden took a short walk together after lunch in the manicured garden of the Bay Area estate.
When a reporter shouted to ask how the talks went, President Biden said "well" and gave a thumbs up, while President Xi waved at the press.
Chinese state media went big on this moment - video of the two leaders walking side by side and smiling was quickly shared by state media outlets, and was soon posted on social media.
A walk with world leaders appears to have become common in Xi’s diplomatic engagements, offering a touch of something more personal and even candid.
He did the walk with Presidents Obama and Trump when he visited the US in 2013 and 2017 respectively.
Xi has taken at least 18 walks with other leaders between 2013 and 2018, according to a 2018 report by Chinese state media Cankao Xiaoxi.
The 2013 walk with Obama, in fact, inspired the now-famous Winnie the Pooh memes, comparing the cartoon to Xi. References to Xi as Winnie are now regularly censored on Chinese social media.
Tessa Wong
Asia Digital Reporter
During their meeting Xi told Biden to "stop arming Taiwan" and that the US should "reflect its position of not supporting 'Taiwan independence' in concrete actions", according to a Chinese government readout.
He also asked for US support of China's "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan.
Taiwan, which counts the US as its biggest ally, is a self-governed island that China claims as its own. It's been a huge sticking point for both sides.
One bugbear for China is what it sees as conflicting messages from the US.
The US has stuck to the One China policy, the diplomatic acknowledgement there is only one Chinese government which is Beijing. Biden reiterated this in his press conference just now. But it has also been arming Taiwan to its teeth, especially in recent months.
For decades the US has operated under "strategic ambiguity", where they are deliberately unclear about whether they would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack. But Biden has on several occasions said the US would go to Taiwan's military aid, only for officials to later row back on his statements.
It's also worth remembering that China has been sending its own conflicting messages.
It has long insisted that it wants "peaceful reunification". Most experts do not believe that China, at this moment, wants to invade Taiwan, even though some in US intelligence and military believe otherwise.
Yet, China has been ramping up its military presence in the South China Sea and its warplanes have been buzzing round Taiwan on an unprecedented basis. Beijing says it is defending its sovereignty claims in the area, but many see it as grey zone warfare designed to wear down Taiwan's defences.
Biden: US to resume direct contact with China's military
Biden has just finished giving remarks to reporters. He covered a host of topics in about 20 minutes.
Just as he was walking off the podium at the press conference, Biden took a question from a reporter who asked whether he would still call Xi a dictator.
Biden responded: "Well look, he is, he's a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country, based on a form of government that is totally different from ours."
Biden had caused some furore in June this year when he called Xi a dictator a day after their top officials had talks in Beijing.
At the time, it upset Chinese officials who called his comments then "extremely absurd and irresponsible".
US President Joe Biden has just finished answering questions after his high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He spoke at length about today's bilateral, and also talked about the current situation in Israel and Gaza.
Stick with us as we continue to bring you the latest updates and analysis.
A reporter has just asked a question about the situation in Gaza.
Biden says Hamas has committed a "war crime" by placing its fighters and weapons under the Al Shifa hopsital in Gaza.
Hamas is "hidden under a hospital," he says. "That's a fact. That's what happened."
Hamas plans to attack Israel again, he notes, adding that "the idea they're gonna stop and not do anything is not realistic".
He says that Israel is carefully clearing militants and is ensuring that patients are being kept safe.
"I know the man. I know his modus operandi," Biden says of his counterpart.
"We have disagreements. We have different views on a lot of things."
"But he's just been straight," in his communications, he says.
Biden says the two sides also talked about a key conflict in US-China relations: Taiwan.
Biden "stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan strait", he tells reporters.
Biden adds that he told Xi the US does not wish to change the status quo of US-Taiwan relations, saying "that's about the extent to which we discussed it".
Biden says the two sides also exchanged views on a host of global issues, including Russia's "brutal war of aggression in Ukraine" and the conflict in Gaza.
"As I always do, I raised areas where the United States has concerns about the [People's Republic of China]'s actions," he says, including US citizens who are being unfairly detained.
Biden says he gave Xi names of individuals who are being held and whom he hopes will be released, but they reached no agreement on that.