Scott Bessent says US doesn't want to decouple from China ahead of scheduled meeting with Chinese counterpart

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet with their Chinese counterparts over the weekend in Switzerland to discuss economic matters, a significant first step in trade talks between the two global superpowers since President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on "Liberation Day."

Bessent told "The Ingraham Angle" in an interview Tuesday that he was planning on traveling to Switzerland to negotiate with the Swiss and found out that the Chinese team would also be traveling through Europe. 

He did not explicitly mention which side called the other first, saying there were "a lot of contact points over time."

CHINA'S ECONOMIC WOES THREATEN REAL WAR AMID TARIFF BATTLE

US President Donald Trump, alongside Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (L) and Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick (R), speaks to the press as he signs an executive order to create a US sovereign wealth fund, in the Oval Office of the White House on February 3, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

"The world has been coming to the U.S. and China has been the missing piece," Bessent told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 

The White House has been attempting to negotiate trade deals with numerous countries after Trump announced a 90-day pause in April on most so-called reciprocal tariffs, excluding China, which faces a 145% tariff.

"We have shared interests. This isn't sustainable, as I said before, especially on the Chinese side — and, you know, 145%, 125% is the equivalent of an embargo. We don't want to decouple — what we want is fair trade," Bessent said.

No trade deals have officially been announced since the pause was implemented. The Treasury secretary said at a White House press briefing last week that the United States has had substantial talks with Japan and a deal with India could be imminent.

A Fox News graphic that depicts how countries have responded to President Donald Trump's tariffs. (Fox News / MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump’s tariffs have created volatility in financial markets since his "Liberation Day" announcement on April 2. The president asked voters to remain patient as his economic plan takes shape, following the economy's 0.3% contraction in the first quarter of 2025.

Bessent told Ingraham that he expects the upcoming scheduled meeting with Chinese officials will be more about de-escalation than a big trade deal.

"We've got to de-escalate before we can move forward," he added.

Trump said in an interview with NBC’s "Meet the Press" with Kristen Welker that at some point he would have to lower the tariffs on China "because otherwise, you could never do business with them."

"They want to do business very much… their economy is collapsing," he said.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. On Tuesday, Trump announced two ambassadorship nominations.  (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Bessent did not discuss potential changes in tariff percentages, saying he wouldn’t negotiate in public, but stated that "everything is on the table."

"At the end of the day, the president has said that he's happy just to give all countries a number if the negotiations don't go well, and that's what we're doing with the other 17 important trading partners," he explained.

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"You can negotiate in good faith, you can come with your A game, or President Trump is happy to ratchet the number back up to your April 2 number, if you don't want to decrease your tariffs, your non-tariff trade barriers, the currency manipulation and subsidies of labor and industry."