The United States and China have agreed on a framework to implement their trade truce, officials on both sides said Wednesday, after concluding two days of talks in London to defuse tensions and ease export restrictions that threaten to disrupt global manufacturing.

Japanese firms responded to the threat to their exports with a massive foreign direct investment campaign. The U.S. is blocking China from doing the same.

Chinese exports of rare earth minerals, which are vital to carmakers and other industries, and China's access to high-end technology from the U.S., including computer chips, are high on the agenda.

After two days of talks in London, the U.S. and China have agreed in principle on a framework to carry out an agreement they reached on resolving their trade disputes last month, Chinese state media said.

China's trade negotiator says that the two countries reached an agreement on a trade framework after two days of talks.

US stocks closed higher as investors wait for news from another day of China-US trade talks in London. Key inflation data are also ahead.

The only scenario in which China might deregulate its critical minerals export is if the U.S. fully removes tariffs imposed on Chinese goods as part of the trade war, said Wang Yiwei, a professor of international affairs at Renmin University, echoing the Chinese government’s earlier stance.

China will only be renewing contracts for its rare earths six months at a time, making rolling trade negotiations more likely, The Wall Street Journal reported.