Greer pressed Beijing on agricultural purchases and rare earths in video call
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a New York audience Tuesday that the United States has grown too dependent on foreign supply and China too reliant on foreign demand, calling for a “more balanced relationship” between the two countries. He made the appeal at a gala hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in a New York ballroom.
Bessent said reducing U.S. reliance on China was necessary for both countries. “The American economy has grown too dependent on foreign supply, while China has become increasingly reliant on the foreign demand. In other words, the United States must produce more of what we consume, while China must consume more of what it produces,” he said. “Working together, we can strengthen both our economies.”
That position, Bessent said, “does not reflect hostility” but seeks to restore “a spirit of reciprocity.” He extolled the two countries’ bond as “one of this century’s most consequential relationships” and portrayed the ties between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a genuine friendship.
Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng echoed calls for “reciprocity,” telling those gathered that “China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.” He also said, “The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can complement each other.”
The comments came with trade tensions between Washington and Beijing persisting and a fragile truce set to expire in January. Trump is expected to travel to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen next week to meet Xi for the third time this year, and trade is likely to be high on the agenda.
Separately, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had a video call with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng last week. Greer’s office said he urged Beijing to take “concrete actions to fully implement its past commitments, particularly as they relate to agricultural purchases, rare earths, and other critical minerals.”
China’s official news agency Xinhua reported that China expressed concerns on the call about Washington’s restrictive economic and trade measures against Beijing.
Both officials used the language of reciprocity, from different directions. Bessent attached it to production and consumption goals, while Xie Feng framed it around cooperation between the two countries. The two governments approach the leader meeting with the existing truce due to expire in January and with Greer’s office pressing Beijing for full implementation of past commitments on agricultural purchases, rare earths and other critical minerals.
Bessent and Xie Feng used the gala to state their countries’ trade positions publicly days before the summit, which the two sides approach with a truce scheduled to expire in January, Greer’s request that Beijing fully implement past commitments, and China’s concerns about U.S. trade restrictions on record.