<p>On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that he interacted with his Chinese counterpart this past week, a contact that comes as the United States and China are engaged in a trade war.</p>
<p>Beijing has denied there were trade talks with the United States, but President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/24/china-says-no-talks-with-the-us-on-trade-calls-for-canceling-unilateral-tariffs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> to reporters that there were meetings with China.</p>
<p>On ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week,&#8221; Bessent told anchor Martha Raddatz, &#8220;This was IMF World Bank week in D.C., as you know, and I had interaction with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more on traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings.&#8221;</p>
<p>The United States has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-issues-90-day-pause-on-most-tariffs-raises-chinas-to-125" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> tariffs on China to 145% in bid to stop what the Trump administration says are unfair trade practices. China responded by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/china-strikes-back-with-125percent-tariffs-on-us-goods-starting-april-12.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raising</a> tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%.</p>
<p>Trump indicated last week that tensions could be easing, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-tariff-on-china-will-drop-substantially-after-bessent-warns-against-trade-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> the tariffs against China come down &#8220;substantially&#8221; — but not to &#8220;zero.&#8221; He also said that he has spoken <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-chinas-xi-called-him-amid-ongoing-confusion-over-trade-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;many times&#8221;</a> with Chinese President Xi Jinping, although he did not clarify if those discussions happened after escalating tariffs.</p>
<p>Bessent said he was unaware of any conversations, although he stressed that he knows there is a &#8220;very good relationship&#8221; and &#8220;a lot of respect&#8221; between the two world leaders, and emphasized that he believes &#8220;the Chinese will see this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business.&#8221;</p>
<p>As companies that rely on Chinese imports feel the pinch, Bessent contended that Beijing&#8217;s &#8220;business model is predicated on cheap, subsidized goods to the U.S., and if there is a sudden stop in that, they will have a sudden stop in the economy, so they will negotiate.&#8221;</p>
<p>Raddatz pressed Bessent to provide a timeline for when a comprehensive deal could be reached, noting how Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-22/bessent-sees-de-escalation-with-china-situation-unsustainable" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Treasury secretary told an investor summit that it could take two to three years.</p>
<p>Bessent said the first priority will be &#8220;de-escalation,&#8221; followed by reaching an &#8220;agreement in principle&#8221; with China and other important trade partners who have seen the &#8220;Liberation Tariffs&#8221; slapped against them reduced to a 10% base rate during a 90-day pause.</p>
<p>&#8220;A trade deal can take months, but an agreement in principle and the good behavior and staying within the parameter of the deal by our trading partners can keep the tariffs there from ratcheting back to the maximum level, sure,&#8221; Bessent said.</p>

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Treasury Secretary Reveals ‘Interaction’ With Chinese Counterpart Amid Trade War