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President Donald Trump on Monday pledged to let 600,000 Chinese students study at U.S. colleges, a move that could ease some tensions with Beijing after months of trade hostilities.

The president, speaking from the White House, said the education sector would be spared as he continues to heap tariffs and threats on Beijing.

“I hear so many stories that we’re not going to allow their students. We’re going to allow their students to come in,” Trump told reporters. “It’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China.”

Trump had issued a ban on students from China from early in his administration, though he has more recently signaled he might be willing to let them in. The number of new Chinese students at U.S. universities has fallen in recent years after reaching a record high last year.

The standoff has continued despite trade talks that have ebbed and flowed for months. Washington has slapped a 145 percent tariff on all Chinese goods, and in retaliation, Beijing has hit U.S. exports with a 125 percent tariff.

The issue has also played out in real time as America’s trade negotiators sparred with Beijing in Geneva over recent weeks. The two sides reached a deal in May to pause further tariffs, but Trump has signaled in recent weeks that the U.S. might add new penalties.

Last week, he mused about a 200 percent tariff on magnets from China, which he said Beijing had all but monopolized.

“I heard we have like two people who make magnets in the United States. China, intelligently, went and they sort of took a monopoly on the world’s magnets,” Trump said. “It’ll probably take us a year to have them.”

Currently, 270,000 Chinese students study in the United States, according to U.S. Education Department figures. The 600,000 that Trump mentioned would more than double that amount.

Universities that rely on international students for revenue have watched warily as Trump’s administration has considered revoking visas for students. For colleges that often face pressure from their government to accept more students, allowing in 600,000 could be a major boon.

Trump’s position on students from China appears to have reversed from his administration’s stance last spring. In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration would “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese citizens, particularly those involved in research or who are members of the Chinese Communist Party.

Trump himself backtracked on the policy in June, telling reporters, “I have always been in favor of having the students come from China.” On Monday, he doubled down on that assertion.

The announcement comes just before Trump is due to meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. When asked if he would be open to a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump indicated he was.

“I would like to meet him this year,” he said. “Because we’re talking, and we’re talking reasonably and we’re getting along.” He added, “It’s a much better relationship economically than it was before with Biden. But he allowed that. They just took him to the cleaners.”

With the tariff remark, it appeared Trump was not signaling an end to the economic rivalry, but that his administration would not be closing off other forms of cooperation. In addition to his apparent olive branch for students, he also, on Monday, indicated he was still open to a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.