China, U.S. confirm trade deal framework reached

June 27 (UPI) -- The United States and China have reached a trade deal, China's Commerce Ministry confirmed in a statement on Friday.

The confirmation comes hours after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday remarked during a press conference that "We just signed with China yesterday," without further explanation. He was speaking about trade deals with foreign nations and said one with India may be on the horizon.

The statement from Beijing said the two sides held trade talks in London on June 9 and 10 and they "reached a principled agreement on a framework" for a deal that will see China approve export applications for controlled items, while the United States will lift what it called "a series of restrictive measures previously imposed on China."

The meetings in London were held following a phone call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump on June 5.

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Specifics of the trade deal were scant, and it was not immediately clear which restrictive measures were being referred to nor what export applications were to be affected by the deal, as both Beijing and Washington have imposed restrictive commerce controls on one another amid a trade war that began in February when Trump imposed a 10% fentanyl-related tariff on Chinese goods that he then doubled to 20%.

He then followed with additional tariffs that added up to 145%, which China retaliated against with tariffs of its own with a 125% levy against U.S. imports.

Last month, the two countries agreed to a 90-day pause to allow more time for negotiations, which saw U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods drop to 30% and Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods decrease to 10%.

This is a developing story.