Bessent on China trade talks: 'I believe we have makings of a deal'

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said he's set to discuss with President Donald Trump on Thursday an extension of the tariff-hike truce with China, expressing confidence a settlement will be reached.

"I believe that we have the makings of a deal" after negotiations with a Chinese delegation in Stockholm earlier this week, Bessent said in an interview on CNBC. "They announced that we would have a 90-day roll, which was a bit premature," he said with regard to an extension of the pause on ultra-high tariff levels implemented earlier this year. Bessent said that he and US trade representative Jamieson Greer will be speaking on Thursday with Trump "about whether we will be doing the roll by the Aug 12th deadline. There's still a few technical details to be worked out on the Chinese side between us."


"I'm confident that it will be done, but it's not 100% done," Bessent said. The treasury chief said that rare earth magnets, which Beijing had used as a negotiating card, are "flowing" from China now.

China's holdings of US treasuries haven't been a feature of talks, he further said. bloomberg