US President Joe Biden will hold a crucial meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, as he tries to persuade Beijing to play a greater role in curbing North Korea’s support for Russia in its war against Ukraine.

It will be Biden’s last meeting with Xi before he leaves office in January to make way for Republican president-elect Donald Trump.

At the meeting, Biden is expected to focus on incentivising China, North Korea’s largest trading partner, to prevent North Korea from escalating its military support for Moscow. Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to Russia to help it fight Ukraine, according to US and South Korean intelligence reports.

The meeting is expected to be Biden’s last chance to try to stabilise relations between Washington and Beijing before he hands over power in January.