Bessent says U.S. must trust China's word on trade deal
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Photo: Bai Xueqi/Xinhua via Getty Images
The U.S. trade deal with China isn't finalized yet, but America has to trust that Chinese leaders will keep their word, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday.
Why it matters: It was only a month ago that Bessent said China couldn't be trusted. His shift in tone captures the uneasy stakes of a pact central to global trade in rare earths and American soybeans.
- Administration officials hope their changing tone in recent weeks can bring the sweeping pact to fruition.
Driving the news: The U.S. and China announced a trade deal on Oct. 30. Among the terms: China relaxing restrictions on the export of crucial rare earth minerals and buying more American soybeans.
- Recent reports have suggested the Chinese were already pulling back on some rare earth exports, though, and not buying many soybeans.
What they're saying: "We haven't even finished the agreement, which we hope to have done by Thanksgiving," Bessent said in an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."
- Bessent said he was confident that after "our meeting in Korea, between the two leaders, President Trump, President Xi, that China will honor their agreements."
The big picture: The world's two largest economies have had a complicated trade relationship under Trump and Xi, with deals made, ignored, made again and then lasting only a short time.
- That's left plenty of skeptics questioning why this time would be any different, despite administration assurances the deal was firm.
The intrigue: Challenged on what the U.S. could or would do if China didn't honor that deal, Bessent insisted the U.S. had "lots of levers" but was approaching the deal more optimistically.
- "All options are on the table, but I think we have to go into this believing that President Xi will keep his word to President Trump," he said. "President Trump is the only president who could have negotiated this agreement."
What we're watching: Thanksgiving is 11 days away, and markets will be keen to see if a deal comes together, and trade begins flowing freely again.
