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. The deal, reached after Trump and China's President Xi Jinping spoke on the telephone last week,

China’s ability to deny the U.S. defense industry the materials it needs is a powerful negotiating tool, and impacts U.S. military preparedness against China’s increasingly aggressive power projection in the Indo-Pacific.