Beijing, Jun 25 (AFP) Top Chinese and US trade negotiators have held telephone talks ahead of a crunch meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the G20 summit this week, Chinese state media said Tuesday.

Vice Premier Liu He -- Xi's pointman in the trade war -- spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday and they "exchanged opinions on economic and trade issues," according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The call took place "at the request of the US side" and the officials agreed to continue to maintain contact, Xinhua said.

Trump's highly anticipated meeting with Xi will take place on Saturday, the second day of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, according to a US official.

The two leaders agreed to meet after negotiations broke down last month and both sides exchanged steep increases in tariffs on $260 billion in two-way trade.

Trump has since moved to blacklist China's top telecommunications company, Huawei. Beijing has responded by threatening to create its own list of "unreliable" companies and individuals. (AFP)

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