After a time of increasing disagreements that put their trade talks at risk, top U.S. and Chinese officials have agreed on a plan to restart discussions, both sides have stated.

The announcement punctuated the conclusion of two days of discussions in London, which culminated late Tuesday.

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

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that after dealing with the initial negative atmosphere, they were now ready to progress.

Asian stock markets rallied on Wednesday in the wake of the freshly announced agreement.

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

According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Li Chenggang, who is China's Vice Minister of Commerce and International Trade Representative, announced that both sides had mostly agreed on a plan to put into practice the agreements made during the recent phone call and the discussions in Geneva.

More information, including any plans for future discussions, was not immediately accessible at that time.

Li and Wang Wentao, China's commerce minister, were part of the group led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. They met with Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at Lancaster House, an old mansion near Buckingham Palace that is 200 years old.

Wendy Cutler, a former U.S. trade representative, mentioned that the disagreements had already consumed 30 of the 90 days available for both parties to attempt to resolve their issues.

In Geneva, they reached an agreement to pause most of the tariffs over 100% that they had put on each other for 90 days. This was due to an increasing trade conflict that had caused worries about a potential recession. The World Bank also lowered its predictions for economic growth in the U.S. and globally this year, mentioning the increase in trade obstacles.

Cutler, who is now Vice President at the Asia Society Policy Institute, noted that the U.S. and China wasted important time in putting their Geneva agreements back in place. 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 several issues, including 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 largest producer of rare earths, has indicated it might speed up giving out export licenses for these elements. In return, Beijing wants the U.S. to remove its restrictions that prevent China from accessing the technology needed to produce advanced semiconductors.

Lutnick stated that sorting out the rare earths problem is a key part of the agreed plan. He also said that the U.S. would take away the actions it had put in place as a reaction, but he did not say exactly what those actions were.

"Following license approval, we anticipate a corresponding decrease in our export execution," he stated.

Cutler mentioned that it would be an unusual step for the U.S. to discuss its export controls, which she characterized as a problem China has been highlighting for almost two decades.

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

In Washington, a federal appeals court decided on Tuesday to allow the government to keep collecting taxes on imported goods that Trump put in place, not just on China but also on other countries around the world, while the government challenges a decision that opposed his key trade policy.

Trump previously stated his intention to facilitate greater access for American products to the Chinese market, the world's preeminent manufacturing hub.

Speaking from the White House, Trump mentioned that if they didn't open up China, they might not do anything. However, he emphasized that they wanted to open up China.