Top U.S. and Chinese officials were meeting in London on Monday to try to defuse a high-stakes trade dispute that has widened beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to restrictions over rare earths, threatening to cripple supply chains and slow global growth.

Delegates from the United States and China are set to meet Monday in London after a phone call between the nations' leaders seemingly led to a cooling of tensions related to their otherwise heated recent trade dispute.

Talks between the US and China kicked off in London, with the US signaling a willingness to remove restrictions on exports in exchange for assurances that China is easing limits on rare earth shipments.