China and the United States ease the pressure

China announced Friday that it had "confirmed" the framework of its trade agreement with the United States, assuring that Washington would lift restrictions against it and that Beijing could approve the export of more controlled items.

Following talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in May, Washington and Beijing agreed to pause their trade war. They agreed to temporarily reduce the prohibitive tariffs they imposed on each other's products.

China had also pledged to ease certain non-tariff countermeasures. But US officials later accused Beijing of violating the agreement, including dragging its feet on issuing rare earth export licenses. Rare earths are metals used in a wide variety of products such as smartphones, wind turbines, and electric vehicles. They are essential to the modern global economy.

In mid-June, Washington and Beijing finally agreed, during new talks in London, on a "general framework" to smooth out their trade disputes. The White House reported progress on Thursday in trade with China, with an official specifying that the two sides had validated an agreement that includes accelerating shipments of rare earths to the United States.

US President Donald Trump said at an event that Washington "just signed" a trade deal with China. Asked about Trump's brief statement, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later referred on Bloomberg TV to the London negotiations, saying the framework agreement, which required top-level approval, had now been "signed and sealed."

Beijing confirmed Friday that a consensus had been reached. "China hopes the United States will move forward in the same direction as China," a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. "Recently, after approval, the two sides confirmed the details of the implementation framework," he added. "China will proceed in accordance with the law to review and approve export applications for controlled items that meet the requirements," the Ministry of Commerce said. "The United States, accordingly, will lift a series of restrictive measures against China," it added.

The top priority for the United States was securing access to rare earths. China is the world's largest producer. But Chinese exports to foreign companies have slowed since early April, when Beijing began requiring domestic producers to obtain permits to export seven types of rare earths. The move was widely seen as retaliation for US tariffs on Chinese goods.