WASHINGTON: Senior US and Chinese officials on Wednesday failed to agree on major steps needed from Beijing to help reduce the US trade deficit with China during an annual economic dialogue meeting, a Trump administration official said.

The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the talks and requested anonymity, said that the disagreements covered most areas important to the United States, including access to China's financial services markets, steel overcapacity, trade in autos, Chinese requirements for data localization and ownership caps for foreign firms.

But amid a "frank exchange," the official said it was important that the Chinese delegation acknowledged the need to reduce US trade deficit and work toward that goal.