US President Joe Biden hopes to identify areas of cooperation with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when they discuss their tense relationship Monday, a senior aide said.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Biden hoped that he and Xi would be "totally straightforward" during the meeting in Bali.

Biden wants to "try to come out of that meeting with a better understanding and a way to responsibly manage this relationship," Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One en route to the Indonesian resort island.

Biden also hopes to "come out of this meeting with areas where the two countries and the two presidents and their teams can work cooperatively on substantive issues," Sullivan said.

Biden, who will be holding his first in-person meeting with Xi as president, outlined his views on relations with China during a weekend summit in Cambodia with leaders of Southeast Asian nations, several of which have maritime disputes with Beijing.

Biden told the summit that "the United States is prepared for stiff competition with China but does not seek conflict, does not seek confrontation," Sullivan said.

He said that Biden told the summit that all countries, including the United States and China, should follow "well-established rules" including on freedom of navigation and "refraining from the use of intimidation or coercion or aggression".