Beijing, China - Beijing and Washington "can totally find ways to resolve each other's concerns," China's commerce minister said Friday, as officials from both sides were to meet in Malaysia for trade talks.

The world's two biggest economies have spent a large part of this year locked in a tit-for-tat trade row, though they currently appear to be seeking to avoid further escalation.

Chinese vice premier He Lifeng is leading a delegation to meet US counterparts in Malaysia from October 24 to 27, Beijing said Thursday, the latest of several such rounds of negotiations.

On Friday, commerce minister Wang Wentao said the previous meetings had shown "China and the United States can totally find ways to resolve each other's concerns."

China Trump teases trade deal and nuclear weapons agreement with China

The two can "find correct ways to coexist, and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-US economic ties through mutual respect and equal consultation," he told a news conference marking the end of a key political meeting in Beijing.

US President Donald Trump will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea next Thursday, the White House said, having previously threatened to cancel.

Beijing this month announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting Trump to threaten 100% tariffs on imports from China in retaliation.

The two countries also began applying arrival fees against each other's ships, sparked by a US "Section 301" investigation that found Beijing's dominance in the industry was unreasonable.