Bessent says U.S.-China talks ongoing despite Beijing’s sharp rhetoric

In its sharpest response yet to recent U.S. trade actions, China said on Monday it “firmly rejects” Washington’s new restrictions and urged the Trump administration to honor commitments made between the two leaders in past phone calls.

“China firmly rejects the recent U.S. restrictions and sanctions on China and will do what is necessary to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote on X.

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Trump says Xi Jinping, China’s president, knows where he stands when it comes to tariffs. (Ton Molina/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Threatening high tariffs is not the right way to deal with China. The U.S. should correct its approach and act on the common understandings the two presidents reached in their phone calls,” the statement added.

Tensions intensified last week after China said on Thursday that it would expand export controls on rare earths. Relations took another anxious turn when President Donald Trump outlined his countermeasures against the world’s second-largest economy a day later. 

The tit-for-tat posturing between the world’s two largest economies sent markets tumbling on Friday and added new strain to an already fragile relationship.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Monday that over the weekend there were substantial communications between Washington and Beijing. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expects the meeting between Trump and Xi to happen later this month.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)

He also said that more discussions are expected and a meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of the month is still on track.

However, it is unclear how Bessent’s upbeat assessment of U.S.-China communications squares with Beijing’s combative tone in its latest statement.

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President Donald Trump has previously said that he does not want to engage in a trade war with China. (Win McNamee/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We have substantially de-escalated,” Bessent said during an interview on “Mornings with Maria.”

“The 100% tariff does not have to happen,” he said, adding that the Trump administration will not move on implementing it until Nov. 1. 

“The relationship, despite this announcement last week, is good. Lines of communication have reopened, so we’ll see where it goes.”