US President Donald Trump said Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed to restart the flow of crucial rare earth materials, after announcing a new round of US-China trade talks will be held in London on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to let rare earth minerals and magnets flow to the United States, a move that could lower tensions between the world's biggest economies.

But there was a discrepancy in the two sides’ statements after the Trump-Xi call on one of the most contentious issues: rare earths, which are needed to make all kinds of advanced technologies and are produced almost entirely in China.