Bessent says US, China could have very productive relationship

WASHINGTON: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that the U.S. relationship with China could be very productive and welcomed Beijing as a rival.

“The U.S.-China relationship now is in a very comfortable place. We are going to be rivals, but we want the rivalry to be fair,” Bessent said during an appearance at the BTG Pactual CEO Conference, held in Sao Paolo, Brazil. “We do not want to decouple from China, but we do need to de-risk.”

Bessent is preparing to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in coming weeks ahead of a planned visit to China by U.S. President Donald Trump in April. Treasury has not given details about the timing or venue for Bessent’s meeting with He.

Bessent told the conference that the U.S. was working on “retaking sovereignty” from China in strategic industries including critical minerals, semiconductors and medicines.

“We’re always going to be competitors,” he said. “And I’m of the view that competition makes you better, keeps you from stagnating.”  In the long run, he said China would have to rebalance its economy, adding, “The world cannot have a situation where China persistently runs a $1 trillion trade surplus. That’s just not possible.”

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Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer spoke with He by phone in December, and both sides agreed to promote the stable development of bilateral trade and economic ties, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported at the time.

Bessent last met with He in Malaysia in October, when both sides discussed a framework agreement under which Beijing agreed to defer export controls on rare earth supplies and Washington dropped a 100% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary has said in recent weeks that China is on track to meet its commitments under a U.S.-China trade agreement, including the purchase of 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, by the end of February.