President Donald Trump said Friday that he expects a budding US-China trade war to end with "a very good deal."

"I think we will make a deal with China," he told journalists at the White House. "I think a very good deal will be made with China."

Markets have soared on reports that the two sides are closing in on a deal that would avoid Washington piling on still more tariffs against Chinese imports.

"We are getting much closer to doing something," Trump said. "A lot of progress has been made."

Asian markets enjoyed another rally earlier after Trump hailed positive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a report said he had asked officials to draw up a draft bill ahead of a potential trade deal.

The comments came days after Trump warned he would impose tariffs on all China's shipments to the US before saying he thought he could "make a great deal with China" but it was not yet ready.

Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, reported that the president has requested key cabinet secretaries put together an outline deal to call a ceasefire in the painful row.

It said several agencies had been called in to help with putting the plan together.

Hong Kong enjoyed its best percentage gain since December 2011.

Washington and Beijing are in an increasingly high-stakes standoff over Trump's aggressive move to end what he says have been years of unfair trade practices by China, including rampant intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and market access barriers.

Trump imposed new tariffs on roughly half of Chinese imports this summer, while Beijing fired back with tariffs on most US products.

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China urged to move 'beyond reform rhetoric' at trade expo
Shanghai (AFP) Nov 2, 2018
European ambassadors and foreign business lobbies are calling on China to introduce "bold" and concrete market reforms at a Shanghai trade fair next week that the government touts as proof of its commitment to opening up. President Xi Jinping on Monday formally kicks off the week-long China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will gather more than 3,000 foreign businesses from 130 countries seeking to sell their products in China's market. Xi has raised expectations by saying it will be unli ... read more