US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

The talks, scheduled to run through Friday, follow three days of deputy-level meetings to work out technical details, including a mechanism for enforcing any trade agreement. Mnuchin told reporters in Beijing that he hopes for "productive" trade meetings but didn’t give any further details. Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are holding talks Thursday and Friday with Vice Premier Liu He. 

US President Donald Trump said earlier that he could see letting the March 1 deadline for reaching a trade agreement with China slide a little, but that he would prefer not to, and expects to meet with President Xi Jinping to close the deal at some point.