The United States and China have agreed on a trade framework after two days of negotiations in London, China’s trade negotiator Li Chenggang told reporters on Wednesday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.
The two sides “have agreed in principle on the framework for implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state during their phone talks on June 5 and at Geneva talks last month,” he said.
The US and Chinese officials will now take the proposal back to their leaders for approval, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters in a separate briefing in London, Reuters reported.
“The idea is we’re going to go back and speak to President Trump and make sure he approves it. They’re going to go back and speak to President Xi and make sure he approves it, and if that is approved, we will then implement the framework,” he said.
The latest round of talks, held Monday and Tuesday, followed a long-anticipated phone call last week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The call appeared to ease tensions that emerged over the past month after a surprise agreement in Geneva was announced in May.
After talks in the Swiss city, the two sides had agreed to drastically reduce tariffs on each other’s goods for an initial 90-day period. Initially, the mood was upbeat. However, sentiment soured quickly over two main sticking points: China’s control over so-called rare earth minerals and its access to semiconductor technology originating from the US.
Lutnick said that China’s restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals and magnets to the US will be resolved as a “fundamental” part of the framework agreement, according to Reuters.
“Also, there were a number of measures the United States of America put on when those rare earths were not coming,” Lutnick said. “You should expect those to come off, sort of as President Trump said, in a balanced way.”
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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