FILE PHOTO - Chinese Vice Premier Liu He with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pose for photos before holding talks at the Xijiao Conference Center in Shanghai, China July 31, 2019. Ng Han Guan/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and agreed to hold ministerial-level trade talks in Washington “in the coming weeks,” a USTR spokesman said late on Wednesday.

“They agreed to hold meetings at the ministerial level in Washington in the coming weeks,” USTR spokesman Jeff Emerson said in an emailed statement. “In advance of these discussions, deputy-level meetings will take place in mid-September to lay the ground work for meaningful progress.”

Earlier, China’s commerce ministry said that the top trade negotiators for the two countries agreed during the call to hold talks in early October in Washington.