AP Photo/Jim Mone

President Donald Trump says the US and China are close to striking an agreement that could de-escalate their trade war.

"We're in the final throes of a very important deal," the president told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. "It's going very well."

Experts weren't convinced by Trump's comments, with one analyst saying, "If I had a pound for every time we heard a phase one trade deal was close..."

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President Donald Trump says the US and China are close to striking an agreement that could de-escalate their trade war.

"We're in the final throes of a very important deal," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. "It's going very well."

Trump offered further comments during an interview with the former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. "I'm holding it up because it's got to be a good deal," he said. "We can't make a deal that's like, even. We have to make a deal where we do much better, because we have to catch up."

Analysts were skeptical of Trump's rhetoric.

"If I had a pound for every time we heard a phase one trade deal was close ... but it is apparently still close, but is it very close like it was a few days earlier? Donald Trump says it's close anyway and that's all the excuse the bulls needed to get to new all-time highs on Tuesday," said Neil Wilson, the chief markets analyst at Markets.com.

"Trump said the sides are in the 'throes' of doing a deal but added he's 'holding it up' to get a better deal. The usual stuff," Wilson added.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry signaled that trade talks were progressing well and that the two sides reached a "consensus" on how to solve thorny issues over a phone call. It remains to be seen, however, when the two sides will meet in person to flesh out the key parts of the deal.

Stocks looked to be pushing higher early Wednesday, with futures underlying the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rising 0.1% and 0.2%.

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