U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that a long-anticipated trade agreement with China “is done,” following two days of high-level talks between American and Chinese officials held in London. The announcement signals a major step toward easing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Speaking through his Truth Social platform, President Trump said the deal was awaiting only final approval by Chinese President Xi Jinping and himself. He emphasized that the agreement would secure vital rare earth minerals for the United States and reopen American universities to Chinese students.
The announcement comes weeks after a temporary truce was struck in May during talks in Switzerland, which had seen both countries lower tariffs and agree to further negotiations within 90 days. Despite that truce, each side has since accused the other of breaching non-tariff aspects of the agreement.
In his message, Trump stated: “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!).”
Rare earth minerals crucial components for technologies ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles and military systems were at the heart of the talks. Washington has previously criticized Beijing for restricting exports of these materials, causing supply chain concerns for U.S. manufacturers.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, speaking after the London meetings, confirmed that a framework had been reached to resolve restrictions surrounding rare earth minerals and magnets. He noted that the next step would be formal approval from both presidents.
China’s Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang echoed this, stating that both countries had “in principle” reached an implementation framework based on the phone call between Trump and Xi on June 5 and their earlier Geneva consensus.
Earlier in the year, Trump’s administration had imposed sweeping tariffs targeting several countries, with China facing the highest impact. In retaliation, Beijing raised its own tariffs on U.S. imports, leading to a tit-for-tat battle that pushed rates as high as 145%.
The May reset in Switzerland marked a cooling point, bringing U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods down to 30% and prompting Beijing to cut its levies to 10%. China also pledged to ease export barriers on key critical minerals, setting the stage for this week’s follow-up discussions.
However, trust between the two nations has remained fragile. The U.S. accused China of failing to lift restrictions on rare earth magnet exports, while China blamed Washington for maintaining tech restrictions and visa bans targeting Chinese students and companies like Huawei.
Even so, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce signaled a willingness to cooperate, announcing on Saturday that it had approved some applications for rare earth export licenses. Although details were sparse, it raised hopes for a broader resolution.
With both nations now publicly supporting the terms of the new framework, the world waits to see whether Presidents Trump and Xi will give the final nod needed to usher in a new chapter in U.S.-China trade relations
