(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China has agreed to begin the process of purchasing U.S. energy.

"In fact, a very large scale transaction may take place concerning the purchase of Oil and Gas from the Great State of Alaska. Chris Wright, Doug Burgum, and our respective Energy teams will be meeting to see if such an Energy Deal can be worked out," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

China has stayed away from importing U.S. crude oil and has been reselling U.S. liquefied natural gas since early this year as Beijing's high tariffs made the purchases unviable.

The U.S. accounted for about 5% of China's LNG imports and 2% of China's crude oil imports last year, Chinese customs data showed.