China says it will hold more trade talks with US in Beijing

China's top trade negotiator Liu He said on Friday in Washington that trade talks with the US would continue in Beijing but warned that there would be no concessions on "important principles".

"Negotiations have not broken down, but rather on the contrary, this is only a normal twist in the negotiations between the two countries, it is inevitable," Liu told Chinese media.

In pics: How US-China talks differ from any other trade deal

"Both sides agree they will meet again in Beijing in the future and keep pushing forward the negotiations," he said without giving a date.

Although Liu deemed the two days of talks in the US "productive" he said differences continued to exist.

"We have a consensus in lots of areas but to speak frankly there are areas we have differences on, and we believe these concern big principles," he said.

"Every country has important principles, and we will not make concessions on matters of principle."

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier, talks to end a worrisome US-China trade battle were "constructive," giving a sign of hope that Washington and Beijing could seal a deal to avert damage to the global economy.

"They were constructive discussions between both parties, that's all we're going to say," Mnuchin was quoted as saying by CNBC following a two-hour negotiating session.

President Donald Trump said Friday he was in no hurry to reach a deal with Beijing, arguing the United States was negotiating from a position of strength.

Just hours earlier, Washington had pulled the trigger on an increase in punitive duties on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent, and Beijing responded vowing to take the "necessary countermeasures."