President Donald Trump has announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping had consented to the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets to the United States.

This agreement has the potential to alleviate tensions between the world’s largest economies.

When asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether Xi had consented to the action, Trump responded, “Yes, he did.”

A request for comment was not promptly addressed by the Chinese embassy in Washington.

China has granted provisional export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. manufacturers, according to two sources familiar with the matter, in another indication of the lessening of tensions regarding the issue.

The senior advisers to the president of the United States will convene in London to engage in additional discussions with their Chinese counterparts.

“We have made significant progress on the China deal,” Trump informed reporters on Friday.

On May 12, the nations reached an agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, to suspend the majority of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs that had been imposed on each other since Trump’s January inauguration for a period of 90 days.

The news caused financial markets that had been concerned about trade disruptions to rally.

However, the suspension of exports of a diverse array of critical minerals and magnets by China in April has persisted in the disruption of supplies required by automakers, computer processor manufacturers, and military contractors worldwide.

Trump had accused China of violating the Geneva agreement and had imposed restrictions on the export of chip-design software and other items to China. Beijing denied the assertion and issued threats of reprisal.

Rare earths and other critical minerals are a source of leverage for China, as Trump may face domestic political pressure if economic growth slows due to the inability of companies to produce mineral-powered products.

Trump has issued numerous threats regarding punitive measures against trading partners since his return to the White House in January, only to retract some of them at the eleventh hour.

The intermittent approach has perplexed global leaders and alarmed business executives.