Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed on Sunday that he is not aware of any recent trade talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, even as Trump says he has spoken with the Chinese president “many times.”
“I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi. I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other, but again, I think that the Chinese will see that this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business model,” Bessent said on ABC News’s This Week.
While he was unaware of any conversations between the two world leaders, Bessent did indicate he spoke with his Chinese counterpart at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington, D.C., last week.
“I had interaction with my Chinese counterpart, but it was more of the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings. I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi,” he added.
Just before the weekend, Trump revealed that he was talking to Xi but declined to give details on the conversations as he awaits a trade deal. China, meanwhile, has insisted no such talks have occurred.
When asked on Sunday about China’s denials of any talks, Bessent said, “I think they’re playing to a different audience.”
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China and the United States are amid a tariff battle after Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement in early April. Most of those so-called reciprocal tariffs have been paused, but the levies on China stayed and sit at a steep 145% rate.
Bessent insisted that Chinese officials know these rates are “unsustainable” and will be forced to negotiate.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
