Larry Kudlow says trade deputies from the two countries would speak within 10 days and "if those deputies meetings pan out... we are planning to have China come to the USA" to advance negotiations over ending a trade battle that has emerged as a potential risk to global economic growth.

But even with the talks stalled for now and the threat of greater tariffs and other trade restrictions hanging over the world economy, Kudlow said on Fox News Sunday the US remained "in pretty good shape".

"There is no recession in sight," White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said. "Consumers are working. Their wages are rising. They are spending and they are saving."

His comments follow a rocky week in which concerns about a possible US recession began to drive financial markets.

Much of the uncertainty surrounds prospects for a resolution of the trade tensions between the United States and China.

The administration last week delayed the imposition of some of its planned tariffs to avoid disrupting the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

Trump told reporters he had a call with China's President Xi Jinping scheduled soon. It had not taken place as of Saturday night.

Trade adviser Peter Navarro on Sunday dismissed last week's market volatility as any sort of warning sign, saying "good" economic dynamics were encouraging investors to move money to the US.

"We have the strongest economy in the world and money is coming here for our stock market. It's also coming here to chase yield in our bond markets," Navarro told ABC's This Week.

For bond markets, the sort of movement Navarro described is often driven by trouble - in this case the possibility that the trade battle with China is lasting far longer than expected and becoming disruptive to business investment and growth.

Still, Navarro said the tariffs on Chinese goods, "are not hurting anybody here".

The US economy does continue to grow and add jobs each month. Retail sales in July jumped a stronger-than-expected 0.7 per cent, the government reported last week, and Kudlow said that number showed that the main prop of the US economy is intact.

But manufacturing growth has slowed and lagging business investment has become a drag. Globally, flagging trade flows have pushed the German economy towards recession, and dampened growth in China.

A slowdown would be bad news for Trump, who is building his 2020 bid for a second term around the economy's performance.

He told voters at a rally last week they had "no choice" but to vote for him in order to preserve their jobs and investments.

Despite talking up the economy, the president and his advisers have repeatedly accused the US Federal Reserve of undermining the administration's economic policies.

On Sunday, Kudlow again pointed the finger at the central bank, describing rate hikes through 2017 and 2018 as "very severe monetary restraint".

Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday joined the many economic analysts who have said the administration's sometimes erratic policies are to blame for increased uncertainty, disappointing business investment and market volatility.

"I'm afraid that this president is driving the global economy and our economy into recession," Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke said on NBC's Meet the Press.

The China trade war and the imposition of tariffs was "hammering the hell out of farmers across this country", he said.

Speaking to CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Democratic South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg criticized the administration for failing to deliver a deal with China.

"There is clearly no strategy for dealing with the trade war in a way that will lead to results for American farmers, or American consumers," he said.

Australian Associated Press