Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday he doesn’t know whether President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have recently discussed tariffs or have begun informal negotiations on trade.
In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” Martha Raddatz asked the Treasury secretary about apparently conflicting statements from Trump, who has indicated he has talked to the Chinese leader, and from Xi, who has signaled the opposite.
“President Trump, again, said he's spoken to President Xi of China, and negotiations are ongoing,” Raddatz said. “But China has firmly denied this, saying that China and the U.S. have not consulted or negotiated on the tariff issue.”
“So, are negotiations actually happening? Who is talking?” she asked.
Bessent responded by noting that this past week was “IMF-World Bank Week” in Washington, adding, “I had interaction with my Chinese counterparts — but it was more on the traditional things, like financial stability, global economic early warnings.”
“I don't know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi,” he continued. “I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other.”
“But, again, I think that the Chinese will see that this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business,” Bessent added.
Asked why China would deny that negotiations were ongoing, Bessent said he thinks “they’re playing to a different audience.”
Pressed again on whether that means negotiations are actually underway, Bessent did not address the question explicitly, saying instead that “we have a process in place” and that he thinks the high tariffs are bad for China’s business model.
In an interview with Time magazine published Friday, Trump said Xi has called him but didn’t say specifically when the call took place or what specifically was discussed.
Asked by reporters on Friday if he had spoken with Xi since tariffs were announced, Trump responded, “I don't want to comment on that, but I've spoken to him many times.”
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