WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would either strike a very big trade deal with China or "postpone" it, but it was not clear precisely what he was referring to.
"This isn't going to be a small deal with China. This is either going to be a very big deal, or it's going to be a deal that we'll just postpone for a little while," Trump told reporters at the White House, without elaborating.
The world's two largest economies are trying to strike a deal on trade by early March to avoid a planned increase in the tariff rate being imposed on Chinese imports by the United States.
Asked if he would postpone the U.S.-set deadline, Trump said: "I don't know."
But he said China wanted to strike a deal to avoid an increase in tariffs.
"I'd like to accommodate them, if we can," Trump said. "I'd like to accommodate China if we can get the deal done."