London. Senior US and Chinese negotiators have agreed on a framework to advance trade talks after a series of disputes threatened to derail them, Chinese state media said Wednesday.

The announcement came after two days of discussions in the British capital, which concluded late Tuesday.

The tensions had shaken a fragile truce reached in Geneva last month, prompting a phone call last week between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in an effort to stabilize relations.

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, Li Chenggang, a vice minister of commerce and China’s international trade representative, said both sides had agreed in principle on a framework to implement the consensus reached by the two leaders during the Geneva talks.

No additional details were released, including any plans for a potential next round of negotiations.

The Chinese delegation, led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, included Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Li. They met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace.

Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator and now vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, noted that 30 of the 90 days agreed upon in Geneva to resolve trade issues had already passed due to ongoing disputes.

During the Geneva truce, both sides agreed to suspend most of the 100 percent-plus tariffs they had imposed amid an escalating trade war that stoked fears of a global recession. On Tuesday, the World Bank lowered its economic growth projections for both the US and global economies, citing a rise in trade barriers.

“The US and China lost valuable time in restoring their Geneva agreements,” Cutler said. “Only 60 days remain to address key concerns, including unfair trade practices, industrial overcapacity, transshipment, and fentanyl.”

Since Geneva, the two nations have clashed over issues such as advanced semiconductors powering artificial intelligence, visa restrictions for Chinese students in the US, and rare earth minerals critical to the auto and tech industries.

China, the world’s largest producer of rare earth elements, has indicated it may ease export restrictions imposed in April, measures that alarmed global automakers. Beijing, in return, wants Washington to lift restrictions on Chinese access to advanced semiconductor technology.

Cutler said it would be unprecedented for the US to negotiate over its export controls, calling it a long-standing irritant for China.

“By doing so, the US has opened a door for China to insist on including export controls in future negotiating agendas,” she added.

Meanwhile, in Washington, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the US government may continue collecting tariffs imposed by Trump on China and other countries while the administration appeals a lower court ruling against the policy.

Trump reiterated his goal of expanding market access for American products in China.

“If we don’t open up China, maybe we won’t do anything,” Trump said at the White House. “But we want to open up China.”

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