After a time of increasing problems that put progress at risk, top negotiators from the U.S. and China have agreed on a plan to restart their trade talks, both sides have stated.

The announcement was made after two days of discussions in London, which finished late on Tuesday.

The meetings seemed to focus on resolving disagreements about mineral and technology exports, which had disrupted a fragile trade agreement made in Geneva last month. However, it is still unclear if any real progress was made on the more basic problems concerning China's large trade surplus with the United States.

"Following a period of addressing and dispelling negative sentiment, we are now positioned to move forward," U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated to reporters after the meetings.

Following the announcement of the accord, Asian stock markets experienced an upswing on Wednesday.

The discussions happened after a recent phone call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which aimed to reduce the rising tensions.

Li Chenggang, who is China's Vice Minister of Commerce and International Trade Representative, announced that both sides had generally agreed on a plan for carrying out the agreements made during their phone call and the discussions in Geneva, as reported by the official Xinhua News Agency.

More information about the situation, including any possible future discussions, is not available right now.

Li and China's commerce minister, Wang Wentao, were part of a delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. They had a meeting with Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at Lancaster House, which is an old mansion near Buckingham Palace.

Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade representative, expressed concern that the disagreements had wasted 30 of the 90 days available for both sides to find a solution.

In Geneva, they agreed to pause most of the tariffs over 100% for 90 days. These tariffs had been put in place by both sides during a growing trade conflict that caused worries about a recession. Because of this, the World Bank lowered its predictions for economic growth in the US and globally this year, mentioning the increase in trade barriers.

Cutler, who is now Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute, noted that the U.S. and China wasted important time in getting their Geneva agreements back on track. They now only have sixty days left to deal with important issues like unfair trade practices, too much production, moving goods through other countries, and the fentanyl problem.

Since the Geneva talks, the U.S. and China have had strong disagreements about advanced semiconductors used for artificial intelligence, visas for Chinese students at American universities, and rare earth minerals that are very important for carmakers and other industries.

China, the world's biggest producer of rare earths, has suggested it could issue export licenses for these elements more quickly. In exchange, Beijing wants the U.S. to remove its limitations on China's access to the technology used for advanced semiconductors.

Lutnick stated that resolving the rare earths problem is a crucial part of the agreed framework, and that the U.S. will withdraw the actions it had previously put in place. However, he did not specify what those actions were.

He stated that once the licenses are approved, we should expect a reduction in our export activities.

Cutler mentioned that it would be an unusual step for the U.S. to discuss its export controls, which she called a long-standing problem that China has been mentioning for almost two decades.

By doing this, the U.S. has allowed China to push for export controls to be included in future talks, she stated.

A federal appeals court in Washington has allowed the government to continue collecting tariffs that the Trump administration put in place on products from China and other countries. This will happen while the administration appeals a previous decision that went against its main trade policies.

Trump previously stated his intention to increase access for American goods to the Chinese market, the world's foremost manufacturing hub.

Speaking from the White House, Trump suggested that if trade with China wasn't opened up, there might be no progress, but he also stated his strong desire to open it up.