President Donald Trump delivers remarks on proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Washington.

President Donald Trump may not reach the second part of a trade pact with China until after the 2020 election, he said Thursday.

The president said his administration will start "right away" negotiating the next piece of an agreement after striking a so-called phase one deal. But he said "it'll take a little time" to finish an accord and suggested he could have more leverage after his reelection bid in November.

"I think I might want to wait to finish 'til after the election, because by doing that, I think we can actually make a little bit better deal, maybe a lot better deal," Trump told reporters at the White House.

The president and Chinese officials plan to sign a long-sought initial piece of a trade agreement on Jan. 15. The deal will involve some tariff relief, increased Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods and changes to intellectual property and technology rules.