A screen shows President Xi Jinping attending a virtual meeting with President Joe Biden via video link. Reuters

US President Joe Biden pressed his Chinese counterpart on Beijing's human rights practices, in an over three-hour call on Monday, while Xi Jinping warned that China would respond to provocations on Taiwan, officials said.

The closely watched conversation between the leaders of the world's biggest economies was described by both sides as frank and direct as the two sides tried to lower the temperature and avoid conflict.

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The talks appeared to yield no immediate outcomes, but gave the two leaders opportunity to nudge their relations away from icy confrontation.

They discussed North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, global energy markets, trade and competition, climate, military issues, the pandemic and other areas where they frequently disagree.

Joe Biden meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Roosevelt Room in Washington. AP

Meanwhile, Biden told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday that he has "concerns" over human rights abuses and also warned against "unliteral" moves to change the status of Taiwan, the White House said.

"President Biden raised concerns about the PRC's (Chinese communist party) practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as human rights more broadly," the White House said in a readout after the virtual Biden-Xi summit.

"On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States... strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."