The U.S. President, Donald Trump, on Monday, said he was optimistic a final trade deal could be reached with China soon.

Trump, who cautioned an agreement may still not happen, said he would hold a summit to sign any pact if it happens.

Speaking at the White House a day after signalling that he planned to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to conclude any deal, Mr Trump told a group of U.S. governors that while a U.S.-China trade pact could happen soon, a deal also may not be reached.

“It might not happen at all, okay? Might not happen at all, but I think it’s going to happen and it could happen fairly soon.

“The relationship is great. Both sides were very, very close,’’ the Republican U.S. president added.

On Sunday, Mr Trump said he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, set for Friday, due to “productive” trade talks.

Assuming additional progress is made on both sides, Mr Trump said he planned to meet with Mr Xi at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

World markets rose after Mr Trump announced the delay in boosting tariffs, feeding investors’ hopes that the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies could soon be resolved. (Reuters/NAN)