White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that United States President Donald Trump is "setting the stage" for a trade deal with China.

"We're doing very well with respect to a potential trade deal with China. As I mentioned, there have now been 18 proposalsin more than 100 countries from around the world who want to make a deal with the United States of America, and the president and the administration are setting the stage for a deal with China. We feel everyone involved wants to see a trade deal happen, and the ball is moving in the right direction," Leavitt told reporters, choosing not to comment on whether Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had direct talks so far.

Trump previously stated that he doesn't want to further escalate the trade war with China and expressed optimism that a deal will be reached.