Agencies washington/BEIJING

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is in no hurry to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping to try to defuse a new trade war between the world's two largest economies, sparked by his sweeping 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports. China imposed targeted tariffs on US imports on Tuesday and put several companies, including Google, on notice for possible sanctions, in a measured response to Trump's tariffs.

"That's fine," Trump said at the White House when asked about China's retaliatory duties. A conversation between Xi and Trump is seen as key to a potential easing or delay of tariffs, as conversations with Mexican and Canadian leaders did on Monday. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that a Trump-Xi call still needed to be scheduled.

"President Xi did reach out to President Trump to speak about this, maybe to begin a negotiation. So we'll see how that call goes," Leavitt told Fox Business Network earlier on Tuesday. Beijing's limited reply to Trump's imposition of a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports underscored the attempt by Chinese policymakers to engage Trump in talks to avert an outright trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said China hoped Washington would work with Beijing to ensure stable, healthy and sustainable ties between the two countries. The International Monetary Fund, which last month warned that a spike in protectionist policies could hit investment and disrupt supply chains, said it was "in the interests of all to find constructive ways to resolve disagreements and enable trade".

Trump suggested on Sunday that the European Union would be his next target for tariffs, but did not say when.