Donald Trump has claimed Beijing is seeking talks on a deal to end a trade war between the US and China that has spooked financial markets and stoked fears of a global economic slowdown. 

The US president said on Monday that he was optimistic about the prospects for an agreement with Beijing, 24 hours after he appeared to suggest he was having second thoughts about imposing further tariff rises on China.

“China called last night our top trade people and said, ‘let’s get back to the table’, so we’ll be getting back to the table, and I think they want to do something,” he said on the margins of the G7 summit in the French coastal resort of Biarritz. “I have great respect for the fact that China called — they want to make a deal. This is the first time I’ve seen them where they really do want to make a deal, and I think that’s a very positive step.”