The two leaders, meeting at a bucolic country estate outside San Francisco, are looking to get communication back on track after a tumultuous year and to show the world that while they are global economic competitors, they're not locked in a winner-take-all faceoff.

Biden arrived first and awaited Xi, who got out of a black car and took Biden's hand before the two leaders walked a red carpet through the estate's grand entrance with a China flag on one side and a US flag on the other. Five Marines stood in formation.

Since they last met, already fraught ties have been further strained by the US downing of a Chinese spy balloon that had traversed the continental US and by differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, China's hacking of a Biden official's emails and other incidents. (AP)

"We have to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict and we also have to manage it responsibly. That's what the United States wants and what we intend to do. I also believe it's a world wants for both of us candid exchange," Biden said in his welcome remarks at the start of the bilateral meeting.

"We also have a responsibility to our people and the world to work together when we see it in our interest to do so. The critical global challenges we face from climate change to narcotics, and artificial intelligence demand our joint efforts, he said.

The Chinese president, in his remarks, said, "It is unrealistic for one side to remodel the other. Conflicts and confrontations have unbearable consequences for both sides. I'm still of the view that major country competition is not the prevailing trend of current times and cannot solve the problems facing China and the United States."

The meeting was held at the picturesque Filoli Estate -- a country house set in 16 acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654-acre estate. Located in Woodside, California, about 40 km south of San Francisco, it has hosted several high-profile weddings and is a preferred location for the film industry.

Xi, who is attending the APEC Leadership Summit in San Francisco at the invitation of Biden, said Planet Earth is big enough for the two countries to succeed, and one country's success is an opportunity for the other.

It is an objective fact that China and the United States are different in history, culture, social system, and development path. However, as long as they respect each other, coexistent peace and pursue winning cooperation, they will be fully capable of rising above differences and finding the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other, Xi said.

The mood in the meeting room looked cordial, but it did not appear to be friendly as has been in the case of several bilateral meetings that Biden has hosted this year for other Heads of State like Prime Minister Narendra Modi from India or those from Australia, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan.