US President Donald Trump said his conversation with President Xi Jinping last week was friendly, and he thought he could reach a trade deal with China.

The leaders of the world's two biggest economies discussed issues including TikTok, trade and Taiwan in a phone call before Trump took office on Monday.

Since taking office, Trump has spoken about a 10 percent punitive duty on Chinese imports. He has also threatened tariffs against the European Union, Mexico and Canada.

"It went fine. It was a good, friendly conversation," Trump said of his call with President Xi in an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday evening.

"I can do that," Trump said when asked if he could make a deal with China over fair trade practices.

Trump said he would rather not use tariffs against China but called tariffs a "tremendous power."

"But we have one very big power over China, and that's tariffs, and they don't want them, and I'd rather not have to use it, but it's a tremendous power over China," he added.

Beijing has vowed to defend its national interests over Trump's threat to impose the duty, with the Foreign Ministry saying there are no winners in a trade or tariff war. (Reuters and agencies)