US president Donald Trump has claimed that China has agreed to discard the tariffs it places on imports of American cars.

The comments came after an apparently fruitful meeting between the two nations at the G20 summit, where Mr Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had already agreed to a temporary truce in their so-far bitter trade wars.

Both confirmed they would not increase tariffs for 90 days to allow talks to take place, while Mr Xi said China would resume purchases of US farm and energy commodities.

"Relations with China have taken a BIG leap forward," Mr Trump said on Twitter after the meeting.

However, the US president has now also said via the social media site that Beijing is to "reduce and remove" the 40 per cent tariffs it applies to US automobiles going into China, a claim yet to be confirmed by the Asian nation.

No further details were provided, but the news could provide a boost to those operating in the automotive industry and importing and exporting vehicles if it does prove to be true.

Prior to the G20 summit, Mr Trump had intended to raise tariffs on Chinese goods from ten per cent to 25 per cent at the start of the new year.