Bessent says US-China trade relies on leaders' relationship, not decoupling
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said U.S. policy toward China aims to reduce risk in numerous industries while keeping other trade flowing.
What we know
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S.-China relationship is driven primarily by the personal relationship between the two countries' leaders. [1]
- Bessent said the leaders of "the two most powerful countries in the world" will meet four times, calling that frequency unprecedented. [1]
- Bessent said each of those meetings has produced additional "deliverables." [1]
- Bessent said U.S. policy toward China is to "de-risk" rather than "decouple," reducing dependence in some industries while continuing trade in others. [1]
- Not yet confirmed: The post did not specify which industries are considered critical for de-risking, what the referenced "deliverables" were, or when the four leader meetings are scheduled to take place.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S.-China relationship is being shaped largely by the personal relationship between the two countries' leaders, according to a post on X by the Treasury Department. [1]
"We have a President now who the Chinese respect, and the leaders' relationship drives the whole agenda," Bessent said, according to the post.
Bessent said the leaders of "the two most powerful countries in the world" are set to meet four times. "That has never happened before, and each time we have more deliverables," Bessent said. The post did not detail what those deliverables were.
On trade policy, Bessent said the U.S. is not seeking to sever economic ties with China but to reduce exposure in certain sectors. "We always tell the Chinese: We do not want to decouple; we have to de-risk," Bessent said.
Bessent said the U.S. must de-risk in "numerous industries" without naming them, but said trade could continue elsewhere. "On non-critical items, there are things we can sell each other," Bessent said.
The Treasury Department's post did not provide further specifics on the timing of the described leader meetings or which sectors it considers critical.