Economic officials in outgoing US President Joe Biden's administration are set to meet their Chinese counterparts this week for talks, in a final effort to strengthen ties before Donald Trump's White House return.

The talks come as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed in an interview on Wednesday the need for "ongoing communications at all levels" to avoid needless worsening in relations between the world's two biggest economies.

Economic and trade tensions between Beijing and Washington have continued to flare during Biden's time in office. But temperatures could rise further under Trump, who has threatened sweeping tariff increases on Chinese goods ahead of his presidency.

"It's critical to have open channels of communication," Yellen told Bloomberg Television, warning that Trump's universal tariffs proposal would likely trigger retaliation.

On Thursday, US Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh is due to meet Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min for an economic working group meeting on the sidelines of Group of 20 talks in South Africa, said the US Treasury Department.

"The United States and China are the two largest economies on the globe, and the American people expect that we should be able to communicate directly with Chinese officials on both areas where we agree and especially on areas where we don't," said Shambaugh.

US Treasury officials and representatives from other agencies will travel to the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing as well, for a financial working group meeting taking place on Sunday and Monday.

China's delegation is expected to be headed by People's Bank of China deputy governor Xuan Changneng.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration plans to raise tariffs on solar wafers, polysilicon and some tungsten products from China to protect US clean energy businesses.

The notice from the US Trade Representative’s office said tariffs on Chinese-made solar wafers and polysilicon will rise to 50 percent and duties on certain tungsten products will increase to 25 percent, effective on January 1.

"These actions will complement the domestic investments made under the Biden-Harris Administration to promote a clean energy economy, while increasing the resilience of critical supply chains,” US Trade Representative Katharine Tai said in a statement.

Last week, Washington tightened restrictions on Chinese access to advanced semiconductor technology. Beijing responded by banning exports to the US of certain critical minerals needed to make computer chips, such as gallium, germanium and antimony. It also stepped up its controls on graphite exports to the US. (AFP/AP)