China-US trade talks began Wednesday at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, hours before U.S. President Donald Trump was due to arrive in Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the meeting near Seoul but gave no further details.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said he would meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, with both officials having led previous rounds of negotiations.
The officials are expected to finalise possible trade announcements for the Trump-Xi summit.
Washington and Beijing imposed tit-for-tat tariffs exceeding 100 per cent last year before Trump and Xi agreed to a one-year trade truce in South Korea in October.
“Economic security is national security,” Bessent said while announcing his South Korea trip on social media.
Bessent said he would travel onward to Beijing for the summit. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla chief Elon Musk are also travelling to China with Trump.