President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE said on Monday that the U.S. is "not ready" for a trade deal with China, but that he does foresee an agreement "sometime in the future."

Trump said at a joint press conference in Japan with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Beijing wants to make a deal, while suggesting that tariffs on Chinese goods could increase, according to a White House transcript of the press conference.

"I think they probably wish they made the deal that they had on the table before they tried to renegotiate it," Trump said of China. "We're not ready to make a deal. And we're taking in tens of billions of dollars of tariffs, and that number could go up very, very substantially, very easily."

ADVERTISEMENT

"But I think, sometime in the future, China and the United States will absolutely have a great trade deal," he added.

Trump also reiterated past comments that companies are leaving China because of the tariffs.

"Foolishly, some people said that the American taxpayer is paying the tariffs of China," he said. "No, no, no — it’s not that way. They’re paying a small percentage, but our country is taking in billions and billions of dollars."

Abe told reporters that a stable economic relationship between the U.S. and China is "very important."

"With a view as such, I hope that, continuously, U.S. and China will go through dialogue in order to seek constructive solution of the problem," he said, according to the transcript, which cited a translator.

The Trump administration raised tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports earlier this month after trade negotiations between the countries crumbled and Beijing retaliated by increasing tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods.

Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese products.