The state-run China Daily said Tuesday that Donald Trump's administration should consider supporting a Beijing-backed free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific.

The newspaper also said it might be too early to announce the demise of the TPP despite Trump's repeated campaign pledge to scrap the proposal. The China Daily reported that Beijing favors a "new type of major-country relationship" between the two countries--that China and the US deserve something better than the TPP.

In a first phone conversation on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump exchanged wishes for better ties and promises of cooperation.

The China Daily said the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership would be a far more efficient vehicle for advancing US interests.