United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai discussed trade and investment issues with Taiwan minister John Deng on Thursday and agreed to convene a meeting of the countries' Trade And Investment Framework Agreement Council "in coming weeks", Tai's office said in a statement.

"Ambassador Tai emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Taiwan trade and investment relationship and explained the Biden-Harris administration's worker-centered trade priorities," USTR said.

Taiwan had been "cautiously optimistic" about resuming stalled high level trade talks with Washington this year after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signaled a possible resumption on Monday.

The Biden administration has moved to reaffirm its strong commitment to the Chinese-claimed, democratically-governed island in the face of pressure from Beijing to try and assert its sovereignty.

Taiwan has long angled for a free trade deal with the United States, but trade and investment talks between the two have been stalled since the Obama administration.

A senior official at Taiwan's economy ministry told Reuters they hope to resume the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement(TIFA) talks this year.