A framework has been agreed to resolve trade disagreements between the US and China

Cooperation and cooperation between the United States and China in the light of the Trump-Jinping phone call on December 28th, 2020: a rare earths warning

The earlier agreement had been shaken by a series of disputes in the ensuing weeks, leading to a phone call last week between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to try to calm the waters.

China retaliated against U.S. tariffs by halting more of its exports of rare earths, the refining of which it has a near monopoly on. Beijing has been quietly restricting the export of rare earths to the U.S. and European Union since 2024 but in recent weeks has cut off even more minerals. Chinese customs data show rare earths exports by value have dropped by more than 20% this year compared to the same period last year.

In response, U.S. officials have tried to squeeze China by clamping down on exports to the country, including software for making semiconductors, gases like ethane and butane, and nuclear and aerospace components, people familiar with the bans said. U.S. officials also proposed bans on Chinese students in the United States as part of a coordinated effort to ramp up pressure on China before the call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi.

The leader of the United States and China warned that they needed to avoid riots or sabotage, which seems to be a reference to the fact that the Trump government had driven some of these activities without his knowledge. But according to one person familiar with the efforts, the actions were done with Mr. Trump’s knowledge or at his direction.

Li and Wang Wentao, China’s commerce minister, were part of the delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. They met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace.

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Li Chenggang, a vice minister of commerce and China’s international trade representative, said the two sides had reached a framework for implementing the consensus reached between the two leaders.

The two sides sought to build on negotiations in Geneva last month that agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparked fears of recession.

The U.S. and China have engaged in angry words over a number of issues since Geneva, including visas for Chinese students at US universities and rare earth minerals that are vital to the automotive industry.

At the White House on Monday, the president told reporters that he was getting good reports from the talks. “We’re doing well with China. Trump said that China is not easy.

But while China has said it would be willing to set up an expedited “green channel” for companies needing rare earths, it has also signaled it will not completely ease its powerful grip on the world’s supply of refined rare earth products, saying its export controls are “driven by its domestic industrial sustainable development needs,” according to a commentary published this week by the country’s state news agency.

The U.K.’s government is in charge of providing the venue and logistical support for the U.S.-China talks. “We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody’s interests, so we welcome these talks,” it said in a statement.

China’s commerce minister spoke with Britain’s business secretary during a meeting in London. A statement from China’s commerce ministry said Wang called for both countries to uphold the multilateral trading system, and he wanted to see greater cooperation between China and Britain on finance and sustainability.

The U.S. imposes higher tariffs on goods from China than it does on other countries. The US cut its base tariffs on goods from China to 30%.

The first day of trade talks between the U.S. and China in London: A warning to ‘no-leave our breath for any major progress’

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since their tentative truce in the city of the same name.

Yu Jie is a senior research fellow at London’s Chatham House international affairs think-tank and he warns that “We shouldn’t hold our breath for any major progress” after the talks. We’re into the deepest water of trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington. The Chinese are aware of the importance of the rare earth export controls. On the other hand, the U.S. really wants to slow down China’s technology progress.”

The two sides will need to talk about some of the sticking points over the next few days. Lutnick said Tuesday he expects the talks to go on “all day.” He told reporters that the talks were going well and that they were spending lots of time together. The Chinese delegation is in London all week and talks could go on beyond Tuesday.

The second round of tariffs between the U.S. and China is taking place at Lancaster House in the U.K. If these talks can help avoid a trade war, investors and leaders will be happy.