US President Donald Trump threatened retaliatory action against two major Asian trading partners Tuesday, warning of sanctions against China while vowing to revise or scrap a free trade deal with South Korea.

Accusing Beijing of decimating American steel and aluminum industries, Trump said he was "considering all options," including tariffs and quotas.

Trump recently received two Commerce Department reports concerning alleged Chinese subsidies for steel and aluminum exports -- materials that are vital for industries from construction to autos.

He has another two months to decide on possible retaliatory action, but strongly indicated that he is leaning toward hitting back at Beijing.

"I will make a decision that reflects the best interests of the United States, including the need to address overproduction in China and other countries,' he said.

China yesterday warned that the US trade sanctions will hit the world economy.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters that "any sign of unilateralism or protectionism will ... worsen global trade issues and will hurt the recovering momentum of the world economy".

Experts believe any US sanctions would prompt China to respond with sanctions of its own, raising the specter of a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

China produces around half of the world's steel and is accused of flooding the market in order to keep the economic wheels turning at home.

For decades Chinese leaders have been consumed with the need to -- as former president Hu Jintao once put it -- create "25 million jobs a year."

But Trump also is under domestic pressure. He came to office vowing to be a champion of America's rust belt and said Monday he had to act to save the "empty factories" he saw on the campaign trail.

The US trade deficit -- which Trump has vowed repeatedly to fix -- widened even further during his first year in office, up 12 percent to $566 billion.

Taking aim at Seoul, Trump complained that America's 2012 free trade deal with South Korea "was a disaster," vowing the United States would renegotiate a "fair deal" or scrap it altogether.

Trump's comments came a day after he singled out South Korea and China, along with Japan, over their trade surpluses with the United States, accusing them of "getting away with murder."