US Treasury chief slams ‘unreliable’ China at House hearing on Trump trade policy

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing on Wednesday for its aggressive export policies, urged it to be a more dependable partner and depicted China’s disjointed economic structure as hurting not only the US but the entire globe. “China currently has the most unbalanced economy in the history of the world,” Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, told the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. “They cannot be allowed to export their way back to prosperity, not only for working Americans but for working citizens around the world.” Noting his return hours earlier from two days of negotiating with China in London, Bessent said this week’s bilateral agreement offered Beijing a chance to become a more balanced economic player. The deal could also help China boost its domestic consumption rather than extend a long-standing pattern of excessive production distorting the global economy, according to the Treasury secretary. But Bessent urged vigilance. “China has proven an unreliable partner,” he testified before adding that “we will see” if it is more reliable this time. The Treasury secretary further sought to project optimism on the large number of trade agreements that the Donald Trump administration is trying to negotiate simultaneously with a number of countries under its reciprocal tariff policy. That policy, outlined in February, would raise US tariff levels to match those of its trading partners. Bessent on Wednesday said dozens of countries were “engaged” with the US in offering more equitable trade deals. Critics, however, suggested that the administration’s one-size-fits-all trade policy was flawed and noted that only one deal had been reached to date, with Britain, with just a month to go until the Trump deadline. “The president said that we’d have 90 trade agreements in 90 days. We’re 89 short because of the manner in which some of these allies have been offended,” said Democrat Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the committee’s ranking member. “We want trade balance for sure. But we also want to make sure that it’s done in a manner that will last, not subject to the whims of the administration.” US-China negotiations in London saw a deal announced under which, subject to approval by Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the US would impose 55 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing would impose 10 per cent on American products. In addition, China pledged to supply “full magnets and any necessary rare earths”, Trump said on social media, describing the bilateral relationship as “excellent”. But the vast majority of Wednesday’s often contentious hearing involved the Trump administration’s “one big beautiful bill” to cut taxes and alter federal spending patterns. “The economic outlook of the United States has soured a bit since President Trump assumed office,” said California Democrat Mike Thompson. “This is only made worse by the Republican’s big, ugly bill and the administration’s proposed budget.” Democrats also slammed the Trump administration for its approach to China, suggesting it was not devoting enough attention or resources at a time when it has alienated many other trading partners. “Pardon me for being sceptical of this administration’s ability to get anything meaningful out of trade negotiations with China because this administration is too swamped with trying to negotiate with 90 countries around the world,” said Linda Sanchez, a California Democrat. “A poorly negotiated trade deal with China is probably not worth the paper that it’s written on because this is China’s track record,” she added. Sanchez criticised Beijing’s agreement to increase US purchases by US$200 billion over two years under the phase-one trade deal struck in 2020 during the first Trump administration as well as pacts meant to stem US intellectual property theft. “The last time the Trump administration tried to secure meaningful change from China doesn’t exactly inspire any confidence,” she continued. “That’s why I was alarmed to hear this morning that Trump said the US-China deal was done after just two days of talks in London … This so-called deal looks more like a framework” than a trade agreement. Bessent, who flew back to Washington early to testify before Congress, was accompanied in London by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who led the Chinese delegation, was accompanied by China’s Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang.

US Treasury chief slams ‘unreliable’ China at House hearing on Trump trade policy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}His claim Beijing has ‘most unbalanced economy in the history of the world’ fails to sway Democrats’ scepticism over administration’s ‘whims’

His claim Beijing has ‘most unbalanced economy in the history of the world’ fails to sway Democrats’ scepticism over administration’s ‘whims’