Washington and Beijing agree on a "general framework"

American and Chinese negotiators announced overnight Tuesday that they had agreed on a "general framework" to smooth out their trade disputes, leaving it up to their respective presidents to validate it. This was the culmination of two days of meetings in London, which continued late into Tuesday evening.

"The two sides have reached an agreement in principle on a general framework (...) and will report on this general framework to their respective leaders," Chinese International Trade Representative Li Chenggang told reporters around midnight local time (1:00 a.m. in Switzerland).

"The idea is that we're going to go back, talk to President (Donald) Trump and make sure he approves. They (the Chinese) are going to go back and talk to President Xi (Jinping) to make sure he approves," said US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. "And if that's the case, we're going to implement this general framework that we've been working hard on over the last two days," he added.

Howard Lutnick also expressed confidence that tensions surrounding Chinese rare earth exports will be "resolved" as part of this agreement. Chinese rare earths are a key issue in the negotiations, as the United States wants to restore the pace of shipments of these strategic metals, which are currently much lower "than what companies consider optimal," Kevin Hasset, Donald Trump's chief economic advisor, emphasized on CNBC. These raw materials are crucial for electric batteries, wind turbines, and defense systems (missiles, radars, satellites).

The London round of talks aimed to extend the truce reached a month earlier in Geneva. Running until August, it had led the two leading economies to substantially reduce their respective tariffs for a period of 90 days. But a new outbreak of tension threatened once again after Donald Trump accused Beijing of not respecting the terms of the de-escalation agreement signed in Geneva.

The American and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, then spoke by phone last week, an exchange deemed positive by the White House tenant. Chinese negotiator Li Chenggang said the discussions in London had been "very professional, rational, in-depth, and frank."

"We are moving as quickly as possible," said White House Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who was "positive" despite a relationship with China described as "complicated."

In Switzerland, Washington agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30%, in exchange for a similar move by Beijing from 125% to 10% on American products, for 90 days.

The consequences of the trade war are already tangible, with Chinese exports to the United States down 12.7% in May compared to April, according to official statistics from Beijing. While working to normalize relations with Washington, the Chinese government has engaged in discussions with its other partners to form a united front against the United States.