Teams for U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have an agreement in principle for them to meet in San Francisco in November but important details need to be hammered out, a senior Biden administration official said.

The official amplified on remarks by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at her daily press briefing, where she said the two leaders are aiming to have a "constructive conversation" on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco.

"There is an agreement in principle to meet in San Francisco in November. We are still working through important details needed to finalize those plans," the official said Tuesday.

Biden, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the prospect for a Biden-Xi summit in talks with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi at the White House and at the State Department on Friday.

The APEC summit is to take place in mid-November.