Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet with Chinese counterparts in London on Monday to defuse the trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks to include export controls over goods critical to global supply chains.

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.

China has stopped almost all shipments of critical minerals that are needed for cars, robots, wind turbines, jet fighters and other technologies.