U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Chinese authorities should open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden as pressure continues to mount on the president amid a widening impeachment investigation.

Axar.az reports citing Anadolu Agency.

Trump denied asking Chinese officials to carry out the probe into Biden and his son, Hunter, but told reporters before leaving the White House for Florida, "it's certainly something we can start thinking about."

"China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine," Trump said, referring to his other unsubstantiated claims of corruption against the Bidens in Ukraine.

Chinese officials are slated to visit Washington beginning next week for a new round of trade negotiations.

The president earlier Thursday retweeted an NBC News report scrutinizing a 2013 trip Biden took to China in which his son accompanied him on the official visit. At the time, Hunter Biden was seeking to form a private Chinese equity fund, and he reportedly met with a Chinese banker during the visit.

Authorities in Shanghai issued the fund a business license 10 days later, according to NBC.

Trump further acknowledged asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Bidens during a July 25 telephone call that has become the foundation for the House of Representatives' impeachment investigation into the president.