Washington DC - President Donald Trump hailed a "total reset" in US-China trade relations, hours before officials from Washington and Beijing were set to meet for a second day of talks in Geneva.

"A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Many things discussed, much agreed to."

"A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner. We want to see, for the good of both China and the U.S., an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!"

The second day of closed-door meetings between US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are due to restart on Sunday morning.

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The discussions are the first time senior officials from the world's two largest economies have met face-to-face to tackle the thorny topic of trade since Trump's "Liberation day" tariff announcement last month.

The levies imposed by Trump on the Asian manufacturing giant since the start of the year now total 145%, with cumulative US duties on some Chinese goods reaching a staggering 245%.

In retaliation, China slapped 125% tariffs on US goods.

"These talks reflect that the current state of the trade relations with these extremely high tariffs is ultimately in the interests of neither the United States nor China," Citigroup global chief economist Nathan Sheets told the AFP.

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The first day of negotiations occurred Saturday at the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, a discrete villa with sky blue shutters near a large park on the left bank of Lake Geneva.

Going into the meeting, both sides played down expectations of a major change in trade relations, with Bessent underlining a focus on "de-escalation" and not a "big trade deal."

Beijing insisted that the US must ease tariffs before any further progress can be made, but China's state news agency Xinhua said the talks "mark a crucial step toward resolving the issue."

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"US policymakers should heed these rational and objective voices, and take concrete steps to restore China-U.S. trade relations to a path of healthy and stable growth."

China's vice premier went into the discussions buoyed by Friday's news that China's exports rose last month despite the trade war. The unexpected development was attributed by experts to a re-routing of trade to Southeast Asia in an attempt to mitigate US tariffs.