Chinese social media users are scratching their heads over a "Chinese proverb" US President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor Ivanka posted to Twitter as her father prepared for his summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un.

"'Those who say it can not be done, should not interrupt those doing it.' -Chinese Proverb," Ivanka posted on Monday, the night before her father and Kim came together to seek an end to a tense decades-old nuclear stand-off.

China's internet quickly lit up, puzzled rather than flattered by the reference.

"Our editor really can't think of exactly which proverb this is. Please help!" the news channel for Sina - the company behind Weibo, China's largest Twitter-like platform - wrote on its official social media account.

In thousands of comments on Weibo, users proferred scores of different suggestions without arriving at a consensus.