Following a period of escalating tensions that jeopardized trade talks, senior U.S. and Chinese negotiators have reportedly reached an agreement on a framework to revive negotiations.

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

The meetings seemed to focus on finding a way to solve disagreements about mineral and technology exports. These disagreements had put a fragile trade agreement, made in Geneva last month, at risk. It is not clear if any progress was made on the more basic differences regarding China's large trade surplus with the United States.

After successfully eliminating the negativity, we are now ready to move forward, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick informed reporters after the discussions.

Asian stock markets experienced gains on Wednesday in the wake of the announced agreement.

The discussions took place after a recent phone call between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which aimed to reduce 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 the phone call and the discussions in Geneva, as reported by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Specific information about the situation, especially potential dates for future talks, is not yet available.

Li and Wang Wentao, who is China's commerce minister, were part of a group led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. They met 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 resolve their issues.

In Geneva, they agreed to pause most of the very high tariffs they had put on each other for 90 days. These tariffs, which were over 100%, were part of a growing trade conflict that made people worried about a recession. The World Bank also lowered its predictions for economic growth in the U.S. and worldwide this year, mentioning the increase in trade barriers.

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

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, as the world's largest producer of rare earths, has indicated it might issue export permits for these important elements more quickly. In return, Beijing expects the U.S. to remove its limitations on China's access to the advanced technology needed for making semiconductors.

Lutnick stated that resolving the rare earths problem is a crucial part of the agreed framework. He added that the U.S. would withdraw the measures it had previously put in place as a response, but he did not specify what those measures were.

He stated that once the licenses are approved, our export implementation should also decrease proportionally.

Cutler stated that it would be an unusual situation for the U.S. to negotiate about its export controls, which she described as a problem that China has been bringing up for almost 20 years.

By taking this action, the U.S. has unintentionally given China an opportunity to demand that export controls be part of future discussions, she stated.

A federal appeals court in Washington decided on Tuesday that the government can continue to collect tariffs that the Trump administration put on goods from China and other countries around the world. This decision is temporary while the administration appeals a previous ruling that went against his main trade policy.

Trump previously expressed his desire to open up China, the world's leading manufacturer, to allow more American products to enter its market.

Speaking from the White House, Trump said that if they did not manage to open up trade with China, they might not be able to do anything. However, he emphasized his administration's strong desire to achieve this open relationship.