Mr Trump has threatened tariff hikes on $150bn of Chinese goods, partly in response to complaints that China puts pressure on foreign companies to hand over technology.

There have been a series of tit-for-tat measures made by the two countries recently.

US tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium came into effect last month. China placed retaliatory duties on more than 100 US imports, including pork, fruit and wine, soon after.

Further tariffs on $50bn worth of the each country's products are in the offing.

China's President Xi Jinping vowed to open up parts of China's economy last week, warning against a "Cold War mentality".

But on Tuesday China's Commerce Ministry ordered importers of US sorghum to post bonds to pay possible anti-dumping duties.