Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the U.S. has not initiated trade negotiations with China, contradicting recent comments by President Donald Trump. Speaking before the House
Appropriations Committee on May 6, Bessent said, "China we have not engaged in negotiations with as of yet."
This statement runs counter to Trump's repeated suggestions that discussions with Beijing are underway. On April 23, Trump told reporters "everything’s active" regarding trade talks with China. He also told Time Magazine on April 25 that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called him about the issue, adding, "I don't think that's a sign of weakness on his behalf."
The tension between the two nations has escalated following the Trump administration’s imposition of 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, with China responding with 125% tariffs on U.S. exports. Bessent emphasized that the responsibility to ease the standoff lies with China, given their greater export volume to the U.S.
China’s Commerce Ministry acknowledged on May 2 that it is reviewing communications from the U.S. but made clear it would not enter negotiations until the U.S. lifts its heavy tariffs.
When asked about China’s stance during a May 4 appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump said he has no intention of reducing tariffs to initiate talks but may lower them eventually: “At some point, I’m going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them.”
Meanwhile, the administration is pursuing trade agreements with over 170 countries. While universal tariffs of at least 10% remain in place for many, China faces the steepest levies. Bessent noted that negotiations are underway with 17 of the 18 largest U.S. trade partners—China being the exception.
Although no agreements have been finalized yet, Bessent predicted that 80–90% of the negotiations will be concluded by year’s end and hinted that a deal with at least one major partner could be announced this week.
"Many of our trading partners have approached us with very good offers," Bessent said. "We are in the process of renegotiating those." Photo by Senator Tim Scott, Wikimedia commons.
