Late last month, Townhall reported how Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to reporters at the White House about President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.
At the time, China’s foreign minister had claimed that “ China and the U.S. are not engaged in any consultation or negotiation on tariffs.” However, Trump claimed that negotiations were underway with Xi Jinping.
When Bessent was asked about this, he stated, “We’re not going to talk about who is talking to whom…I think that over time, we will see Chinese tariffs are unsustainable for China.”
This week, Bessent touched on the subject again.
Bessent told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US has not engaged in trade negotiations with China “as of yet.”
Bessent made the remarks in a House Appropriations hearing.
“There are 18 very important trading relationships. We are currently negotiating with 17 of those trading partners,” Bessent said. “China we have not engaged in negotiations with as of yet.”
He added that he plans to see “a substantial reduction in the tariffs that we are being charged, as well as nontariff barriers, currency manipulation and the subsidies of both labor and capital investment.”
Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent on trade with China:
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) May 6, 2025
"China, we have not engaged in negotiations with as of yet."pic.twitter.com/FIjcb522II
Trump followed up on this, stating that China “wants to meet.”
“I have not met with them yet,” he added.
Reporter: “Earlier this morning on Capitol Hill, Secretary Bessent said that there had been no negotiations yet with China. You have said something different.”
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) May 6, 2025
Trump: “Uh, they want to meet… We’ll be meeting with them at the right time.” pic.twitter.com/aeuVHVtqjH