The Trump administration is about to perform its latest reversal in trade negotiations with China, if Nvidia is to be believed. The company says it plans to resume sales of its H20 AI chip to China after securing assurances from Washington that it would approve the shipments.

How, then, to explain the resilience of China’s exports in the turmoil of the global trade war? Some companies have been “front-loading”, or shipping extra goods to America, on fears that the truce will not hold and levies will increase further later.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's last stop on his six-day trade trip to China is the booming tech capital of Chengdu.

China’s spy agency has accused overseas intelligence agencies of stealing controlled rare earth materials, reiterating its intent to curb smuggling even as Beijing agrees to review applications to export the vital industrial resource after trade talks with the US.

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.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, center right, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, center left, with their delegations before their meeting to discuss U.S.-China trade in London on Monday.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, center right, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, center left, with their delegations before their meeting to discuss U.S.-China trade in London on Monday.

With help from a longtime Silicon Valley investor turned White House insider, Mr. Huang got the administration to reverse course on restrictions.