US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday warned that the US-China trade war was “not sustainable” and that the countries would have to de-escalate their dispute, in comments that buoyed financial markets hoping for a trade deal.
Bessent told investors at a private conference hosted by JPMorgan in Washington that he expected Washington and Beijing would reach a deal in the “very near future”, according to several people familiar with his comments.
But several people familiar with the remarks said the markets had reacted too optimistically, noting that the Treasury secretary had made clear that there were no trade talks under way between Washington and Beijing. Bessent also admitted that any negotiations with China would “be a slog”.