“That is not what a reliable partner does,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that China is withholding critical minerals it agreed to release in a trade deal the country signed with U.S. negotiators last month in Geneva.
“What China is doing is they are holding back products that are essential for the industrial supply chains of India, of Europe, and that is not what a reliable partner does,” he told CBS host Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.”
Bessent’s comments came just days after President Donald Trump slammed China in a post on Truth Social, writing that “China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”
Though Trump has long been critical of China on trade, Trump ratcheted up the brewing trade war against China in early April, triggering a tit for tat that eventually lead to an effective halt on all Chinese imports to the United States. American tariffs on China climbed to 145 percent at one point, but in Switzerland, the two sides agreed to roll back their sky-high punitive tariffs for 90 days and continue negotiations.
But talks with China are reportedly now stalled.
“We will see what the consequences are,” Bessent told Brennan. “I am confident that when President Trump and party Chairman Xi [Jinping] have a call, that this will be ironed out. But the fact that they are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement — maybe it’s a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it’s intentional. We’ll see after the president speaks with the party chairman.”
The Treasury secretary told Brennan he believes long-sought-after direct talks between Trump and Xi will occur soon.
“I think we’re going to let the two principals have a conversation, and then everything will stem from that,” Bessent said.
