Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he received a "beautiful letter" from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, adding that he would speak to him amid trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.

"We were getting very close to a deal and then they started renegotiating the deal. It was their idea to come back. He just wrote me a beautiful letter. I just received it. I'll probably speak to him by phone," Trump was quoted by USAToday as saying while speaking to reporters at the White House.