Trump says wants big trade deal with China or will "postpone" it

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would either strike a very big trade deal with China or "postpone" it, but it was not clear precisely what he was referring to.

"This isn't going to be a small deal with China. This is either going to be a very big deal, or it's going to be a deal that we'll just postpone for a little while," Trump told reporters at the White House, without elaborating.

The world's two largest economies are trying to strike a deal on trade by early March to avoid a planned increase in the tariff rate being imposed on Chinese imports by the United States. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Tim Ahmann)