President Trump on Monday defended his administration’s decision to threaten a number of trading partners like Mexico with tariffs, calling tariffs a “beautiful thing” and asserting that a trade deal with China was close because of his aggressive policies.

“The China deal is going to work out,” Mr. Trump said in a telephone interview with Joe Kernen, the host of “Squawk Box” on CNBC. “You know why? Because of tariffs. Because right now China is getting absolutely decimated by countries that are leaving China, going to other countries, including our own.”

Mr. Trump said his threat of tariffs on Mexico showed that his approach was working and would ultimately convince China to agree to America’s trade demands.

In the past month, the Trump administration has doubled down on its efforts to pressure its partners, largely because Mr. Trump knows he can impose tariffs unilaterally. Efforts to pressure China to relent on trade have included raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and taking steps to tax nearly all of the country’s imports.