The Trump administration said the U.S. president still wants to meet China's Xi Jinping in an effort to end the trade war, a sign of optimism as negotiators from the world's two biggest economies start their latest round of talks this week.

"He wants to meet with President Xi very soon," White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Monday on Fox News. "This president wants a deal. He wants it to be fair to Americans and American workers and American interests."

Uncertainty whether the leaders will meet to finalize an agreement has stoked concerns that negotiations are faltering as the March 1 deadline approaches. If there's no deal by then, President Donald Trump has threatened to more than double the rate of tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports.