It's a fresh sign that discussions are moving in a positive direction as staff for the two sides meet face to face for the first time since President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed in December to restart talks.
China's Commerce Ministry said ahead of the meeting that it would last only two days.
The Trump administration in its own notice announcing the US delegation did not specify how long the visit would last, saying only that talks between the two countries were "beginning Monday."
A person familiar with the matter tells CNN that negotiators between the world's two largest economies needed more time to discuss issues that were part of the agenda.
Another source told CNN on Monday that US officials expect to host China's top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, in Washington later this month.
The trade talks are playing out amid the ongoing US government shutdown and in the shadow of a March 2 deadline announced by Trump in December.
The President agreed after his meeting with Xi at the G20 summit in Argentina to suspend plans to escalate tariffs from 10% to 25% but only for 90 days while talks proceed.
Trump triggered market anxiety by suggesting in December that he was still prepared to go ahead with the increased tariffs if a trade deal can't be reached, calling himself "Tariff Man," but has been bullish on progress of talks since then.
He tweeted on Tuesday morning, "Talks with China are going very well!"
The US delegation to Beijing is being led by Jeff Gerrish, deputy to the US Trade Representative Lighthizer. In addition to Gerrish, the official delegation will also include David Malpass, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for international affairs.
Also traveling were USTR's chief agricultural negotiator Gregg Doud; the Department of Agriculture's undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs Ted McKinney; Commerce Department undersecretary for international trade Gilbert Kaplan and the Energy Department's assistant secretary for fossil energy Steven Winberg.
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