White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that President Donald Trump is "optimistic" about striking a trade deal with China.

Leavitt made the comment in response to a reporter who asked why Trump hasn't called Chinese President Xi Jinping amid their escalating trade war.

The Context

The questions came after China slapped a 125 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. imports in response to the U.S. raising tariffs on China to 145 percent.

China's decision came hours after White House officials reportedly called their counterparts in Beijing, warned them not to retaliate and told them to have Xi request a phone call with Trump to negotiate a trade deal.

Instead, China responded by hiking its tariffs on the U.S. to 125 percent and Xi dug his heels in publicly, saying China will "never" rely "on handouts from others, and it is not afraid of any unjust suppression."