China says Xi, Trump to have 'in depth' talks on 'major issues'

China said that leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump will have "in depth" talks on "major issues" Thursday, as expectations grew for their high-stakes talks in South Korea.

Trump has said he expected their first face-to-face meeting of his second term to result in the United States lowering tariffs imposed on China in relation to fentanyl.

Beijing confirmed the face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is taking place in the city of Gyeongju.

The Chinese foreign ministry said the talks would take place in Busan, a short flight from Gyeongju.

"During this meeting, the two leaders will have in depth communication on strategic and long-term issues concerning China-US relations, as well as major issues of mutual concern," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference on Wednesday.

"We are willing to work together with the US side to ensure that this meeting yields positive outcomes, provides new guidance, and injects new momentum into the stable development of China-US relations," Guo added.

Trump said earlier he expected a "lot of problems" to be solved with Xi in their talks on dialling down their hugely damaging trade war.