United States President Donald Trump said on Friday (Jul 4) he will start talking to China on Monday or Tuesday about a possible TikTok deal.

He said the US "pretty much" has a deal on the sale of the TikTok short-video app.

"I think we're gonna start Monday or Tuesday ... talking to China, perhaps President Xi or one of his representatives, but we would pretty much have a deal," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Trump said in a Fox News broadcast last week that he had found a buyer for TikTok, which he described as a group of "very wealthy people" whose identities he will reveal in about two weeks. 

A deal had been in the works this spring to spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.

Trump said the US will probably have to get a deal approved by China.

When asked how confident he was that China would agree to a deal, he said, "I'm not confident, but I think so. President Xi and I have a great relationship, and I think it's good for them. I think the deal is good for China and it's good for us."

A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's January inauguration.

The Republican president announced an initial 75-day delay of the ban upon taking office. A second extension pushed the deadline to Jun 19, and last month, he issued a third extension to Sep 17.