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.

BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Thursday affirmed a trade deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, saying both sides needed to abide by the consensus and adding China always kept its word.

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 state media say that the U.S. and China have agreed in principle on a framework to resolve their trade disputes.

Private market funds have been underperforming, according to State Street’s latest private equity index, The Financial Times reports. The index, which tracks cash flows from private equity, private debt and venture capital funds, returned 7.08 percent last year, versus the S&P 500’s total return of 25 percent.

Investor interest in rare earth minerals is rising, a source of strength for shares in the rare earth miner MP Materials. The stock rose early on Friday after jumping late Thursday following a Bloomberg report that the Defense Department might provide additional capital to boost production.

S&P Global Commodity Insights discusses consensus price forecasts for industrial and precious metals, including platinum group metals, amid broader market trends.

New bank lending in China rose less than expected in May after hitting a nine-month low in April, as companies and consumers remained cautious about taking on more debt despite interest rate cuts and a trade truce between Beijing and Washington.