U.S. President Donald Trump | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Trump: EU ‘more difficult to do business with than China’ US president says he wanted to finish China deal before moving on to Europe.

Donald Trump reckons Boris Johnson is going to “come out great” from the Brexit negotiations, even though it's not easy doing business with the European Union.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the U.S. president said the EU is "more difficult to do business with than China. All you have to do is ask Boris."

However, he thinks that Johnson "is going to be OK" and added, "I think he’s going to come out great. He’s got a lot of guts. He’s done a terrific job."

Trump said the U.S. has been losing "$150 billion and more for many years ... with the European Union. They have trade barriers where you can't trade, they have tariffs all over the place. They make it impossible. They are, frankly, more difficult to do business with than China. We have a great relationship with China now. We had some testy moments. Very testy. Beyond testy."

He added that, "I wanted to wait until I finished China before I went to work on, respectfully, Europe." Trump said he had a "very specific date" in mind for a U.S.-EU trade deal. Asked if that was before November's election, he said "I think we'll have a deal before."

Trump added that the EU "refused to talk to [former U.S. President Barack Obama]. Me, they're talking to," he said.