Joe Biden holds highest-level talks with Chinese leadership in months at G20 Summit

US President Joe Biden said on Sunday he held his highest-level talks with the Chinese leadership in months, adding that Beijing's economic wobbles would not lead it to invade Taiwan.

Biden said he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping's No 2, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at the annual G20 summit in New Delhi. The talks were the highest level meeting between the two powers in nearly 10 months since Biden and Xi spoke at last year's G20 in Indonesia.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who took over the country's No 2 post in March, attended the gathering of world leaders in place of Xi. The two leaders were not expected to hold talks at the G20 but unscripted encounters at summits are common.

"My team, my staff still meets with President Xi's people and his cabinet," Biden told reporters. "I met with his No.2 person in India today."

He added: "We talked about stability," and the Southern Hemisphere. "It wasn't confrontational at all."

The two super powers have been trying to thaw frosty relations this year after a spat over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over US territory, while fears of an economic slowdown have gripped Beijing.

Speaking at a press conference in Vietnam, Biden touted the US economy as the "strongest" globally. He told reporters that China's growth was slowing due to a weak global economy as well as Chinese policies, but did not specify which policies.