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.

China returns to trade talks with the U.S. holding, from its view, a strong hand: Its economy is bearing up better than expected. And it has an ace card: rare earths.

U.S. and China officials met in London Monday to defuse the trade war between the world's two largest economies. A key issue will be China's restrictions on exporting rare earth minerals, which are key to U.S. industries including auto manufacturing.