Trump Treasury Sec. Bessent to speak with his Chinese trade counterpart

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will speak by phone Friday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations, a senior Trump administration official told CNBC’s Eamon Javers.

Additional details about the call, including the precise time it would take place or next steps to be discussed, were not immediately clear.

But the planned conversation could signal progress in relations between the United States and China, which hit a rough patch last week after President Donald Trump responded to Beijing’s new export controls by threatening to impose additional 100% tariffs on Chinese imports.

Trump, asked in an interview with Fox Business about the impact of these new high tariffs on the economy, replied: “It’s not sustainable, but that’s the number.”

“It’s probably not, you know, it could stand, but they forced me to do it,” Trump said in the interview, part of which aired Friday morning.

Trump added: “I think we’re going to get through this with China.”

He also said he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping “in a few weeks,” when they are both in South Korea.

Bessent said on CNBC’s Invest in America forum on Wednesday that there was a “very good chance” he would travel to Asia to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He before Trump’s trip.

Bessent had praised him as someone for whom he had “great respect”.