The White House had begun making plans for a meeting on the sidelines of the summit in a bid to stabilise relations, The Washington Post reported, quoting one official as saying it "it's pretty firm".
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to visit Washington at some point ahead of the APEC summit.
Beijing however has not confirmed whether Xi will attend the summit or meet with his US counterpart. The White House has also declined to elaborate on a potential meeting with Xi.