President Trump Says China Will Ship Rare Earths in ‘Done’ Trade Deal

President Donald Trump said a trade framework with China has been completed, with Beijing supplying rare earths and magnets “UP FRONT” and the US allowing Chinese students into its colleges and universities.

The US and China will maintain tariffs at their current, lower levels following the two nations’ agreement this week in London, Trump said Wednesday. That number is still higher than before the president took office. Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping and he must still formally sign off on the agreement.

“OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME,” Trump posted on social media. “WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!”

Yet after months of tense back-and-forth between Washington and Beijing, it remained unclear if the latest round of negotiations brought the two sides closer to an ultimate understanding on trade — or if it just amounted to more talk.

While Donald Trump hailed the outcome of trade talks in London, Xi Jinping walked away with an understated strategic gain: a negotiating process that buys China time and helps defuse the threat of more harmful tariffs and technology curbs.

Shortly after two days of negotiations wrapped, Trump declared Wednesday on social media that a deal had been “DONE” to restore the flow of critical magnets from China, and pledged to lift curbs on student visas. Hours earlier, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed Washington would unwind its recent tech curbs, if niche metals essential to US auto and defense firms now flowed fast enough.

China’s focus was very different. A People’s Daily commentary on Thursday — Beijing’s most substantial comments so far on the talks — made no mention of export controls. Instead, the Communist Party mouthpiece touted an “institutional guarantee” established in Geneva for the two sides to bridge differences via a “consultation mechanism.” In a long-awaited leaders’ call before the London negotiations, Xi told Trump the importance of using this channel, it added.

The contrast illustrates a disconnect in how the world’s biggest economies want to manage their trade dispute, and broader rollercoaster relationship. While Trump seeks quick deals done directly with top leaders, Xi favors a framework led by his lieutenants that wards against being blindsided. Such haggling could drag on for years, with the “Phase One” deal from the first trade war taking most of Trump’s first term.

“Xi is playing a longer game on US-China trade. His time in office is simply much longer than Trump’s,” said Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Research. “That’s not to say there’s never any short-term thinking, but the lack of term limits presents very different incentives than for Trump.”

While slow-walking negotiations allows China the chance to assess how hard a bargain Trump drives with other nations, the lingering uncertainty is bad for business, he added.

Xi showed last week he can be flexible, getting on the phone with Trump as ties spiraled, breaking from the protocol to set up such an interaction. In the Biden era, then National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Foreign Minister Wang Yi would huddle in foreign locations for days before their leaders spoke directly, managing outcomes and expectations.

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