Phase one of trade deal with China to be signed ahead of schedule: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Monday said the phase one of the trade deal with China was going to be signed ahead of schedule.

"We are looking, probably, to be ahead of schedule to sign a very big portion of the China deal. We'll call it 'phase one', but it is a very big portion," Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked whether the US-China trade deal would be signed on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Both Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are scheduled to attend the APEC summit in Chilean capital Santiago from November 11 to 17. The APEC comprises 21 countries.

"That (first phase of the deal) would take care of the farmers. It would take care of some other things too. It will also take care of a lot of the banking needs," Trump said.

"So we're about, I would say, a little bit ahead of schedule, maybe a lot ahead of schedule. Probably, we'll sign it. I imagine the meeting is scheduled for Chile. I know they have some difficulties, ..