US President Donald Trump has said a deal with China “is done” after two days of talks between top officials in London.
Trump said that, subject to final approval from President Xi Jinping and himself, the US will get the rare earth metals it needs, while Chinese students can take up their places at American colleges.
Earlier, the US and China said they had agreed in principle a framework for de-escalating trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
Last month, Washington and Beijing agreed a temporary truce over trade tariffs but each country has since accused the other of breaching the deal.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, the president said: “Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me.
“Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, 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!).”
Chinese exports of rare earth minerals, which are crucial for modern technology, were high on the agenda of the meeting in London.
Following the talks, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the deal between the two countries should result in restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets being resolved.
The US has criticised China, saying it has been slow to release exports of rare earth metals and magnets which are essential for manufacturing everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Washington has restricted China’s access to US goods such as semiconductors and other related technologies linked to artificial intelligence (AI).
“We have reached a framework to implement the Geneva consensus,” Lutnick told reporters.
Credit: bbc.com
