CHINESE Premier Li Qiang has said that China and the United States should strengthen economic and trade ties and Washington should avoid decoupling from China.

Premier Li was reported by Chinese state radio to have made the call during a meeting with a visiting US delegation, according to Reuters.

"Strengthening economic and trade cooperation is a win-win situation for both countries," Mr Li told the delegation led by Chamber of Commerce chief Suzanne Clark.

"Seeking decoupling and building 'small yards with high walls' do not align with the fundamental interests of both sides," he added.

Mr Li said US companies were welcome to continue investing in China and that barriers were not in the fundamental interests of both sides.

Ms Clark was leading a delegation of former US government officials to Beijing last week, the group has said.

The visit come as the United States and China gradually resumed engagements after the two economic superpowers' most tense relations in years, at loggerheads over the future of democratically ruled Taiwan, territorial claims in the South China Sea and trade policies.