BEIJING (WASHINGTON POST) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday (Oct 4) that China "will not interfere in the internal affairs of the US", after President Donald Trump urged Beijing to probe his political rival, Mr Joe Biden, amid an impeachment inquiry in Washington.

"(W)e trust that the American people will be able to sort out their own problems," the Global Times, a party-affiliated newspaper, reported Mr Wang as saying.

On Thursday, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House that "China should start an investigation into the Bidens, because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine".

His request for China to assist in an investigation into Mr Biden, who is running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, came as Washington and Beijing prepare for trade talks next week.

"I have a lot of options on China," Mr Trump said on Thursday, "but if they don't do what we want, we have tremendous power."

On Friday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the US side was "open-minded" about the talks, and said there has been a "softening of the psychology on both sides", Reuters reported.