The world's two largest economies are engaged in a high-stakes tit-for-tat trade war that has spooked markets and spurred major manufacturers to reconsider supply chains.

During a gathering of the Chinese Communist Party's top decision-making body focused on economic work and attended by President Xi Jinping, leaders acknowledged that "the impact of external shocks is increasing", state news agency Xinhua reported.

They also said they would seek to "work with the international community to actively uphold multilateralism and oppose unilateral bullying practices", said Xinhua.

The brutal trade war comes as China's economy strains under the weight of longstanding woes in the property sector and the reluctance of consumers to pull out their wallets.

The Politburo meeting saw leaders discuss a range of domestic economic issues, emphasising the need to "enhance the role of consumption in stimulating economic growth", according to Xinhua.

They also called for action to increase incomes and "vigorously develop service consumption", as well as the implementation of key rate cuts at "appropriate times".

Economists say the Chinese economy will need to depend more on domestic consumption in order to sustain growth throughout coming years.

Beijing is targeting annual growth this year of five percent, though experts consider that goal to be ambitious.

Last year saw China achieve record exports, providing a key source of economic activity as domestic challenges in the property sector and deflationary pressure persisted.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has slapped most trading partners with 10 percent tariffs.

But China has received the worst of the blitz, with many products from the country now facing a 145 percent tariff. Beijing has responded with new 125 percent tariffs of its own on US goods.

Friday's Politburo meeting "shows the government is ready to launch new policies when the economy is affected by the external shock", Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist of Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in a note.

However, Zhang noted "it seems Beijing is not in a rush to launch a large stimulus at this stage".

"It takes time to monitor and evaluate the timing and the size of the trade shock," he added.

Recent days have seen competing claims about potential trade talks that could see an easing of the sky-high tariffs that have unleashed chaos on the global economy.

A spokesman for Beijing's commerce ministry said Thursday that "there are currently no economic and trade negotiations between China and the United States".

But hours later, asked about the state of negotiations with Beijing, Trump maintained: "We've been meeting with China."

Meanwhile, Chinese financial news outlet Caijing reported Friday that Beijing was considering the exemption of certain US semiconductor products from recent additional tariffs, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Beijing's commerce ministry did not immediately respond to an AFP request to confirm the reports.