The United States believes progress with China on a range of trade issues has become more difficult and Beijing appears on a "trajectory of retrenchment," a senior Trump administration official says.
President Donald Trump will insist in upcoming talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that more balance is needed in US-Chinese trade relations, the official said, briefing reporters ahead of Trump's November 3-14 Asia trip that will include a stop in Beijing.
Trump's Asia tour is shaping up to be the longest by an American president in 25 years.
With tensions over North Korea's nuclear challenge, Trump's trip stops in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The official's remarks on the US-Chinese trade relations could herald some friction in Trump's talks with Xi on a state visit to Beijing that comes just as Xi consolidated power in a Communist Party congress.
Trump has repeatedly complained about the US trade deficit with China, which was $US347 billion ($A453 billion) in 2016. But he has shied away from taking major punitive trade actions against China.
The official said over the long-term China must provide fair and reciprocal treatment to US and international companies and stop "predatory trade and investment practice".
"Progress on a range of bilateral economic issues has become increasingly difficult. We believe this reflects a slowdown and even a retrenchment in China's move toward a market-oriented economy," the official said.
On Monday, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai predicted in a briefing with reporters that "there will be significant outcomes on the economic side" while Trump is in Beijing.
