BEIJING (Reuters) - China and the United States have agreed to stop imposing additional tariffs in what has been described as a "truce in a trade war" between Washington and Beijing as the two sides try to narrow their differences again through new talks seeking an agreement within 90 days.

The White House said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during talks in Argentina that he would not increase tariffs on Chinese goods worth 200 billion dollars to 25 percent from January 1, as announced earlier.

The White House said in a statement that China agreed to buy an unspecified but "very large" amount of agricultural, industrial, energy and other products.

He said the two sides would start new trade talks on issues including technology transfer, intellectual property, non-tariff barriers, electronic theft and agriculture.

The White House said that if no agreement was reached with China within 90 days, the two sides agreed to increase tariffs, currently 10% to 25%.

Chinese media on Sunday praised what it called an "important consensus" between the two leaders, but did not mention the 90-day period.

Trump imposed a 10 percent charge on Chinese goods worth 200 billion dollars in September, and China responded by charging for US goods.

Trump threatened to impose fees on other Chinese imports worth $ 267 billion, as relations appeared to worsen in the weeks leading up to the meeting.

Major interests
For his part, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two presidents "reached an agreement to end the imposition of new customs duties."

Under the deal, China also agreed to start buying agricultural products from American farmers immediately, the White House said.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires that the two governments believe the agreement "effectively prevented the widening of economic differences between the two countries."

"The facts show that the common interests of China and the United States are greater than conflicts, and the need for cooperation is greater than differences," he said.

US companies and consumers bear part of the cost of US tariffs on Chinese goods to pay higher prices for goods, and many US companies have raised the prices of imported goods.