Only a few years ago, the Biden administration declared export controls a “new strategic asset” to help the US maintain “as large a lead as possible” over China in advanced technology. President Donald Trump is now upending that approach.

The granting of export licenses for the company’s H20 chips points to a tentative de-escalation in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. officials now view export restrictions as a key part of broader negotiations with China, including discussions on access to critical rare earth materials.

The US-China deal under negotiation is likely to bear similarities to the phase one trade agreement from Donald Trump's first term, according to a former senior official in that administration - offering clues to what the highly anticipated pact may look like just weeks before a trade truce between the two rival economies is set to expire.