Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations gala that as Washington works toward a more balanced relationship with Beijing, “our objective is to de-risk, not to decouple.” He said the two governments’ Board of Trade had reached consensus to identify more favourable tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction and had launched a working group on agricultural trade barriers, and he noted China’s earlier agreement to import at least 25 million metric tons of US soybeans and 10 million metric tons of US coal over the next two years.
Bessent also said the United States has opened a new dialogue with China on superintelligence, covering best practices for testing advanced models before release and a direct channel through which either country can promptly alert the other to serious incidents involving its models. He said he would join President Trump in Shenzhen next week, where the two leaders are to meet again before a fourth encounter in Miami.