Beijing, Aug 24 (IANS): A new round of meetings between Beijing and Washington to seek a way out of the trade war has been constructive and will continue, Chinese authorities said on Friday.

At the invitation of the US, a Chinese delegation led by Vice-Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen held talks on Wednesday and Thursday with the US delegation in Washington headed by Treasury Under Secretary David Malpass, China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

The exchange "on trade issues of mutual importance" was "constructive and frank", according to the statement which assures that both parties will remain in contact, reports Efe news.

A new round of high-level dialogue is expected next week to put an end to the trade war ahead of the meetings between the US and Chinese Presidents, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, in upcoming multilateral forums.

The leaders are expected to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in mid-November with heads of state from the other 19 member countries, and in a second session at the G20 leaders' summit in Buenos Aires at the end of November.

On Thursday, the US announced a new round of 25 pe rcent tariffs worth $16 billion on Chinese imports, and China responded to match it shortly after.

Previously, when the $34 billion worth of taxes on Chinese imports came into effect on July 6, China in turn levied the same amount of tariffs on the US imports.

With this latest round of China's tariffs on the US goods announced on Thursday, the total package now reaches $50 billion.

China on Thursday filed another claim before the World Trade Organization to "safeguard free trade and multilateral systems, and defend its own lawful interests".