LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Top U.S. and Chinese officials will sit down in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the high-stakes trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to export controls over goods and components critical to global supply chains.

Top U.S. and Chinese officials were meeting in London on Monday to try to defuse a trade dispute that has widened from tariffs to restrictions over rare earths, threatening a global supply chain shock and slower economic growth.

China’s Commerce Ministry said over the weekend that it had approved some export licenses for rare-earth-related products, a move seen as a goodwill gesture.