Bessent Says US–China Tariff Talks ‘a Bit Stalled,’ Needs Trump, Xi to Step In

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May 31, 2025 - 09:58 Updated: May 30, 2025 - 18:58
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Bessent Says US–China Tariff Talks ‘a Bit Stalled,’ Needs Trump, Xi to Step In

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials are lagging and may require intervention from both countries’ leaders.

Bessent told Fox News that U.S.–China trade talks have been “a bit stalled” and that he expects to hold further discussions with Chinese officials in the coming weeks.

The two nations previously agreed on May 12 to temporarily pause their trade measures on one another, halting reciprocal tariffs for 90 days pending negotiations.

“I think that given the magnitude of the talks, given the complexity, that this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other,” Bessent said.

“They have a very good relationship, and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President [Donald] Trump makes his preferences known.”

Bessent said that Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are expected to speak “at some point,” though he did not provide any specifics.

Both economies have sought to end a trade war in which the United States escalated its tariff on Chinese goods to 145 percent and the Chinese communist regime hiked levies to 125 percent on U.S. imports.

On May 12, the two sides reached a temporary agreement under which the United States reduced its reciprocal tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent and China lowered its tariff on U.S. goods to 10 percent.

Last week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau had a phone conversation with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, during which both sides agreed on the need to keep open lines of communication. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the talk covered “important issues of common concern,” but did not elaborate.

Trump also imposed tariffs on other trade partners on April 2 in an effort to close trade deficits and counter what he deemed unfair trade practices against the United States. These tariffs were later suspended for 90 days to allow negotiations.

Bessent said during the Fox interview that trading partners have been negotiating with the United States “in good faith” and are “trying to complete the deals before the 90-day pause ends.”

“So we’ve seen no change in their attitude in the past 48 hours. In fact, I have a very large Japanese delegation coming to my office first thing tomorrow morning,” he said.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled against Trump’s tariffs on May 28, with the judges determining that the president had exceeded his authority. A federal appeals court later stayed the decision.

The lawsuit was filed by a group of small businesses, including wine importer V.O.S. Selections, whose owner has said the tariffs are having a major impact and his company may not survive. A dozen states also followed suit, led by Oregon.

Government lawyers have argued that the tariffs “are central to the President’s foreign-policy and economic agendas” and that the lower court order would block “efforts to eliminate our exploding trade deficit and reorient the global economy on an equal footing.”
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Owen Evans and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. 
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