WASHINGTON - Securing South Africa's trade ties with the United States will be a key aim of President Cyril Ramaphosa, his office said.

Ramaphosa is in Washington ahead of Wednesday's meeting with US counterpart, Donald Trump.

South Africa's domestic policies and stance on global affairs have been criticised by the Trump administration.

Ramaphosa and his team are hoping to set the record straight.

"The purpose of the visit is to reset and revitalise bilateral relations between South Africa and the United States (US)," read a statement issued by the Presidency.

"In this regard, the visit will focus specifically on reframing bilateral, economic and commercial relations," the statement added.

A priority is securing trade relations in order to "protect jobs, grow the economy and expand employment opportunities", Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen said before Ramaphosa arrived.

Ramaphosa was accompanied by his ministers for international relations, trade and agriculture and also his special envoy to the United States, Mcebisi Jonas.

The United States is South Africa's second-largest trading partner, behind China.

The president will also attempt to affirm that conspiracies of a "white genocide" are "patently false", his spokesman Vincent Magwenya said.

Trump's administration welcomed around 50 people from the Afrikaner community last week after claiming the white minority was under threat in the black-majority country.

Ramaphosa is also expected to encourage Trump to attend the G20 summit of leading economies that South Africa hosts in Johannesburg in November and which the US president has threatened to skip.