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.
Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a historic victory in the snap lower house election held on 8 February, securing more than a two-thirds majority of seats on its own.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday that he hopes to work with U.S. President Donald Trump in the new year to steer the giant ship of China-U.S. relations steadily forward through wind and storms, and accomplish more big things and good things.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi met with Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, in Beijing on Sunday.