President Donald Trump said he has not agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese imports, dampening recent optimism for a major de-escalation in the U.S-China trade war.

Amid a steady stream of conflicting reports, Trump's remarks appeared to push back against Beijing's claims that the two sides had agreed to remove tariffs in stages as part of a partial deal announced last month.

Hopes for progress in defusing trade tensions have driven global stocks higher, since an agreement would remove a major source of uncertainty in the world economy that is undercutting growth.

But Trump again portrayed the dispute as a boon for the United States despite the tariffs paid by American companies and consumers.

"They would like to have a rollback. I haven't agreed to anything," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"China would like to get somewhat of a rollback, not a complete rollback, because they know I won't do it."  Beijing, however, said the two sides had already agreed to mutual tariff reductions.