Details about the meetings in New York, which are expected to explore possible areas for Trump and Xi to agree on, have been scant.
The source said that the meetings could extend to Monday on a technical or "working" level, and that the agenda would stay flexible "to allow for substantive discussion across the range of relevant issues."
Other key topics for Bessent and He to discuss are expected to include potential extension of a tariff truce that expires on November 10, and improving flows of Chinese-produced rare-earth magnets and critical minerals that China severely curtailed last year.
The truce capped tariffs imposed during Trump's second term in office at about 20%. The Supreme Court later struck down Trump's tariffs invoked under a national emergencies law, but his administration has been rebuilding them under new authorities. The US has restored a 12.5% tariff on Chinese goods over forced labor allegations and is finalizing a separate tariff investigation aimed at curbing excess industrial capacity that it says is rampant in China.
At a Trump-Xi meeting in May, China pledged to increase purchases of US agriculture products and at least 200 Boeing aircraft, but details on those transactions have yet to emerge.
With only short preparation time, expectations for Bessent and He to arrange major new deals from the Trump-Xi summit are low, said Wendy Cutler, policy director for the Asia Society in Washington, adding that both sides have an interest in keeping trade tensions from flaring up again.
"If anything, it's an exercise in kind of managing the relationship and ensuring that the elements in the truce are actually being lived up to," Cutler said.
Also in May, the US and China agreed to launch discussions to reduce tariffs for non-strategic goods under a so-called "Board of Trade" mechanism along with a similar forum to deal with specific investment issues.
While the Trump administration has tightened restrictions on American companies investing in some industries in China, Reuters reported on Friday that it is working on rules that would likely allow US pharmaceutical firms to invest in promising Chinese drugs and strike licensing deals for them.
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