Trump Will Only Sign 'great Deal' With China

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Sino-US trade talks are progressing "very nicely" but that he insists on all US concerns being resolved or will not sign a deal.

"It looks like the deal is moving along very nicely," he told reporters at the White House, where he was due to meet Beijing's trade envoy Liu He later in the day.

"Everything is covered, there's nothing that's not covered," Trump said, referring to the scope of US demands.

"It's got to be a great deal," he said. "If it's not a great deal, we're not doing it."

Both Chinese and US officials have projected cautious optimism for months but momentum has slowed as the two sides tussle over whether and when Washington should remove the punishing tariffs it imposed last year on Chinese goods.

US officials have said the negotiations are near an end one way or the other. (AFP)