WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said that Washington is not seeking to escalate tensions with China, highlighting President Donald Trump’s readiness to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.
Speaking at a CNBC event, Bessent noted that officials from both sides are in daily contact to arrange the meeting, and reiterated that the United States has no intention of decoupling from the world’s second-largest economy.
He attributed the restraint in the ongoing trade dispute to the mutual trust between Trump and Xi, which he said has helped prevent further escalation.
Tensions between the two nations nearly reignited into a full-scale trade war last week, after China announced a significant expansion of its rare earth export controls on Thursday.
In response, President Trump threatened on Friday to impose triple-digit tariffs on Chinese imports, rattling financial markets and straining bilateral ties.
In recent days, Bessent and other senior officials have taken part in a media push aimed at easing tensions and restoring stability to US-China ties.
US Treasury Secretary said China had clearly intended to take action “all along,” rejecting Beijing’s claim that the actions were a response to US actions.
Bessent told CNBC that a mid-level Chinese trade official had warned of plans to “unleash chaos” if the US proceeded with imposing port fees on Chinese vessels in August.
“There was a lower-level trade person who was slightly unhinged here in August … saying that China would unleash chaos on the global system if the US went ahead with our docking fees for Chinese ships,” he said.
