The negotiations began on Monday in London, coming after an earlier round of talks in Geneva last month.
This time, China’s exports of rare earth minerals used in a wide range of things, including smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and green technology, are expected to dominate the agenda.
“In Geneva, we had agreed to lower tariffs on them, and they had agreed to release the magnets and rare earths that we need throughout the economy,” Trump’s top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told CNBC on Monday.
Even though Beijing was releasing some supplies, “it was going a lot slower than some companies believed was optimal”, he added.
“Our expectation is that after the handshake, any export controls from the US will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume,” Hassett said.
This marked a signal that the Trump administration might be willing to ease some recent curbs if China rolled back rare earths restrictions as well.
