Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump on Tuesday tempered expectations set by his own administration that the US and China had reached a tentative agreement to resolve a bubbling trade dispute between the two countries.

"There is no deal," Trump said flatly on Tuesday, seemingly rejecting comments by his own top economic officials who suggested the US and China were on the cusp of an agreement to reduce the US' trade deficit with China.

"We'll see what happens, but that deal I will say could be much different from the deal that finally emerges and it may be a much better deal for the United States," Trump added.

Trump's comments came two days after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the US and China had agreed to a "framework" for a trade deal and were "putting the trade war on hold." Stock markets rallied the next day amid a sense that the US-China trade tensions were cooling, but Mnuchin's comments also prompted a backlash from Trump supporters and economists who argued Trump was easing the pressure on China without having achieved significant concessions.

Trump rejected the suggestion that he was softening his stance on Chinese trade abuses, insisting he would negotiate a deal that would benefit the US and noting that it was his administration that barred the Chinese firm ZTE from doing business with US firms last month.

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