U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could hinge on two key tech flashpoints — critical minerals and market access for American companies.

The much-anticipated bilateral meeting between the two countries that were locked in a tariff standoff just a year ago began on Thursday, with warm words exchanged between the two leaders. The discussions will continue into Friday and are expected to cover geopolitics in Taiwan and Iran, as well as key trade topics.

But it's issues relating to U.S. and Chinese tech sectors that could be crucial points of discussion and contention, with a roster of key American executives including Nvidia's

Jensen Huang, Tesla's

Elon Musk and Apple's