Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the weekend accused China of withholding “products that are essential for the industrial supply chains” of the US and its allies, citing semiconductors and medicines that ran short during the pandemic.
Bessent framed Washington’s agenda as “de-risk, not decouple,” stressing that the goal is to make “the whole world less reliant” on an “unreliable partner.”
The broadside followed Donald Trump’s Truth Social post claiming China “HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” adding, “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” Trump said his earlier tariffs had pushed Beijing into “grave economic danger,” prompting the “FAST DEAL” that was struck in Switzerland last month.
Bessent insisted Trump’s post “was not an intentional escalation,” predicting that an imminent call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would “iron out” the dispute. Yet he conceded that Beijing’s decision to withhold goods “they agreed to release” could be “a glitch in the Chinese system—maybe it’s intentional. We’ll see.”
Beijing’s Commerce Ministry fired back, asserting China has “strictly implemented and actively safeguarded” the accord, cancelling or suspending previously announced retaliatory tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
The ministry instead accused Washington of breaching the deal by expanding export controls on AI chips and chip-making tools, and by tightening student-visa rules—moves it called “discriminatory restrictive measures.”
If the US persists, the ministry warned, China will “take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
The rhetorical volley puts fresh pressure on the fragile 90-day cease-fire—even though barely six weeks have elapsed.
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