Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his call with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, had focused entirely on the trade relationship between the nations, which has soured in recent months in a dispute over the export of critical minerals used in an array of industries.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to restart the flow of rare earth minerals and magnets to the United States. Asked directly by a reporter aboard Air Force One whether Xi had agreed to do so,

China views its rare earths as a national security issue, not a trade one, and that’s why Beijing is unlikely to loosen controls anytime soon, experts say.