A group of US lawmakers on a rare visit to Beijing raised a deal with top Chinese leaders which would see China commit to buy more Boeing jets, Adam Smith, a Democratic Representative, said in a press conference on Tuesday.

US ambassador David Purdue said he thought the negotiations had entered their last days or weeks, adding that the deal is "very important to the president".

Boeing is in talks to sell up to 500 jets to China, Bloomberg reported last month. That would represent a major breakthrough for the company in the world's second-largest aviation market, where orders have stalled amid Sino-US trade tensions.

"It's been a while since Boeing airplanes have been sold here in China. We'd like to get that deal done," said Smith, who is leading the bipartisan delegation, when asked about the deal. "It's a good company, good product, hope you get back to selling airplanes in China."

The visit, which began on Sunday, marks the first House of Representatives delegation to China since 2019, after which Sino-US relations deteriorated during the coronavirus pandemic.

It follows a Friday conversation between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, as the world's two largest economies look to improve relations beyond their current tariff truce.

Boeing is one of the largest US exporters and historically sent around a quarter of its planes to China, though it has not secured a major Chinese purchase since Trump's first term in office.

Purdue said he had visited Boeing's plant in Tianjin last week.

The lawmakers met Premier Li Qiang on Sunday and economy tsar He Lifeng and Defence Minister Dong Jun on Monday, raising the need for more military dialogue. (Reuters)