Business reporter, BBC News
Getty ImagesThere is an opportunity for a “big deal” between the US and China on trade, America’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Asked about an upcoming meeting between the countries, Bessent said it would be an “incredible opportunity” to strike an agreement, if China was “serious” on making its economy less dependent on manufacturing exports.
“China needs to change. The country knows it needs to change. Everyone knows it needs to change. And we want to help it change because we need rebalancing too,” he said.
The comments come as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies has escalated in recent weeks.
US President Donald Trump has brought in a number of tariffs on imports to the US which he has said are aimed at increasing US manufacturing and protecting jobs.
These include import taxes of up to 145% on Chinese goods, but China has hit back with a 125% tax on US products.
Speaking at the Institute of International Finance conference on Wednesday, Bessent, said it was a “matter of impetus and will”.
“There is an opportunity for a big deal here, that the US is looking to rebalance to more manufacturing, the identity of that would be less consumption.
“If China is serious on less dependence on export-led manufacturing growth, and a rebalancing towards a domestic economy… if they want to rebalance, let’s do it together.”
The comments come after Bessent reportedly said on Tuesday that he expected a de-escalation of the trade war and that the current situation was “not a joke”.
Trump has also said he is optimistic about improving trade relations with China, saying the level of tariffs – or import taxes – that he had imposed on Chinese imports would “come down substantially, but it won’t be zero”.
Tensions between China and the US have shaken investors, with violent swings in share prices and sharp falls in the dollar.
Stocks surged on Wednesday on hopes that trade tensions between the US and China could soon ease.
Aside from the trade war, Bessent called on the IMF and the World Bank to refocus on the core missions of economic stability and development, arguing that they had strayed too far into vanity projects such as “climate change, gender and social issue”.
“These issues are not the IMF’s mission,” he said.
Tensions between the countries have rattled financial markets, with both sides introducing strong tariffs on each other.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said that he was “very frankly encouraged” by Bessent’s comments on the IMF and World Bank.
Although Mr Bessent said the IMF and the World Bank are “falling short” he did not call for the US to withdraw from the institutions as some conservatives have lobbied for.
He said the Trump administration will use US influence at these institutions and “push them to accomplish their important mandates”.
