US Treasury chief slams ‘unreliable' China at House hearing on Trump trade policy
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent slammed Beijing on Wednesday for its aggressive export policies, urged it to be a more dependable partner and depicted China's disjointed economic structure as hurting not only the US but the entire globe.
'China currently has the most unbalanced economy in the history of the world,' Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, told the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
'They cannot be allowed to export their way back to prosperity, not only for working Americans but for working citizens around the world.'
Noting his return hours earlier from two days of negotiating with China in London, Bessent said
this week's bilateral agreement offered Beijing a chance to become a more balanced economic player.
The deal could also help China boost its domestic consumption rather than extend a long-standing pattern of excessive production distorting the global economy, according to the Treasury secretary.
But Bessent urged vigilance. 'China has proven an unreliable partner,' he testified before adding that 'we will see' if it is more reliable this time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
40 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Huawei chief spells out China hi-tech resilience
The way Ren Zhengfei tells it, Huawei Technologies, the telecoms behemoth he founded, is just one of many hi-tech firms in China. He apparently feels puzzled that the United States keeps targeting his company when its products and computer chips, as well as those of China's other advanced producers, are a generation behind their American counterparts. Advertisement That may be true, but no one should take what he said at face value. His remarks appeared on the front page of People's Daily during two days of intense high-stakes trade talks between Beijing and Washington in London. Two sticking points have been China's restrictions on the exports of rare earths, and America's new curbs on the sale of jet engines and chip-design technologies to China. With Huawei being one of the most important companies behind the nation's drive to become technologically self-sufficient, Ren's interview in Chinese was not only aimed at a domestic audience first and foremost, but also America. We may be behind, he admitted, but were catching up, through perseverance, determination and ingenuity. The most advanced chips may be denied us, but through clever mathematical and computing techniques, Chinese engineers could deliver chips almost as powerful as anybody else. While appearing humble, he was telling the world and the US that Huawei is here to stay, no matter what is thrown at it. There is no better example of Deng Xiaoping's famous dictum: hide your strength, bide your time. In the intensifying trade and tech war between two of the world's largest economies, Huawei has been in the eye of the storm. Last month, the US Department of Commerce tried to declare that the use of Huawei's Ascend chips 'anywhere in the world' would be a violation of American export controls. Beijing responded angrily, and the department climbed down, saying it was an advisory, not an order. Now, subject to final approvals, the two sides may have reached a truce, including apparently relaxing some export curbs on rare earth and chip technologies. Advertisement This will not be the end of their tech war. But China is in a good position with companies like Huawei as one of its trump cards.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Pentagon chief assures lawmakers on review of US-Britain-Australia pact as China looms
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress on Thursday he would involve lawmakers in a 30-day assessment of the Aukus alliance , a day after the future of the three-country security pact was thrown into question by reports that the Pentagon was putting it under review 'Congress will be involved,' Hegseth said in response to a question from US congressman Joe Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat, who also raised concern about the time frame allocated for analysing the pact between Australia Britain and the US. 'A 30-day review on a project that really took years to develop?' Courtney asked during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, while noting that China's dislike of Aukus was the alliance's 'ultimate sort of endorsement'. Asked about Aukus in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China opposed 'manufacturing bloc confrontation and anything that amplifies the risk of nuclear proliferation and exacerbates [an] arms race'. Play
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
House approves Trump request to cut US$9.4 billion funding for foreign aid, broadcasting
The US House of Representatives narrowly voted on Thursday to cut about US$9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress as US President Donald Trump's administration looks to follow through on work done by the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) when it was overseen by Elon Musk. The package targets foreign aid programmes and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides money for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service as well as thousands of public radio and television stations around the country. The vote was 214-212. Republicans are characterising the spending as wasteful and unnecessary, but Democrats say the rescissions are hurting the United States' standing in the world and will lead to needless deaths. 'Cruelty is the point,' Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said of the proposed spending cuts. Massachusetts congressman Jim McGovern said the foreign aid is a tool that prevents conflict and promotes stability, but the measure before the House takes that tool away. 'These cuts will lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, devastating the most vulnerable in the world,' McGovern said.
