US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (June 11) announced progress in trade negotiations with China, highlighting a new agreement that would see Beijing supply the world's biggest economy with "magnets, and any necessary rare earths."

Rare earth elements are critical for various high-tech industries, and China is the world's dominant supplier. The agreement marks a potential de-escalation in trade tensions between the two economic powers.

What did Trump say had been agreed with China?

The deal follows two days of talks in London, where rare earth exports were a major point of contention. Trump said the agreement – pending final approval from both him and Chinese President Xi Jinping — also includes a provision allowing Chinese students to continue studying at US colleges.

"Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me," Trump said in an online post.

"Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, upfront, by China. Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!)."

"We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent! Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

What's behind the US-China talks?

The announcement followed two days of talks in the British capital that ended late Tuesday. The meetings appeared to focus on finding a way to resolve disputes over mineral and technology exports that had shaken a fragile truce on trade reached in Geneva last month.

It remained initially unclear whether any progress was made on the more fundamental differences over China's sizeable trade surplus with the US.

Since then, the US and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that power artificial intelligence, Chinese students at US universities and rare earth minerals – raw materials vital to carmakers and other industries.

Trump spoke with Xi by phone last week to try to calm the waters.

Li Chenggang, a vice minister of commerce and China's international trade representative, said the two sides had agreed in principle on a framework for implementing the consensus agreed in Geneva.

The ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing has continued to intensify since Trump initiated a trade war in February. The two economic giants have exchanged multiple rounds of tariffs, creating turbulence in global markets. In a significant escalation, Trump raised import duties on Chinese goods to as high as 145% in April.

This article was originally published on DW.

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