US President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)

The face-to-face meeting in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday will be the first between Biden and Xi in a year, with the high-stakes diplomacy aimed at curbing tensions between the two superpowers. 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Biden believes there is no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy to manage the complex relationship. 

He said Washington is looking for specific outcomes from the meeting and hoped to see progress in reestablishing military-to military ties with China and in combating the trade in fentanyl that has become a scourge in the United States.

The meeting is also expected to cover global issues from the Israel-Hamas conflict, North Korea, artificial intelligence, as well as "fair" trade and economic relations, senior Biden administration officials said.