Treasury Secretary Bessent Says China Holds 'Losing Hand' In Tariff Escalation

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday characterized China’s retaliatory trade actions as a “big mistake,” saying the nation is “playing with a losing hand” in the escalating tariff conflict with the United States.

The Details: Bessent appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box where he addressed China's recent comments that it will "fight to the end" in a trade war with the U.S.

"I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they're playing with a pair of twos," Bessent said.

"What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us, so that is a losing hand for them," he added.

Bessent's comments come after President Donald Trump said he will slap another 50% charge on Chinese imports if the 34% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods is not withdrawn.

Beijing responded on Monday with the following comments:

"The U.S. threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake," the Commerce Ministry said in a statement translated by CNBC. "China will never accept it. If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end."

Mao Zhenhua, an economics professor at the University of Hong Kong, said that China's comments show the nation is "ready to act," as reported by the South China Morning Post.

"The probability for both sides to meet for talks or even a turnaround is very small," Mao added, warning all parties to "brace for impact".

What Else: Bessent also told CNBC that Japan is eager to negotiate on tariffs and the White House expects many other countries to come to the table as well.

"I think you are going to see some very large countries with large trade deficits come forward very quickly," Bessent said. "If they come to the table with solid proposals, I think we can end up with some good deals."

Markets React: All 3 major indexes opened Tuesday's session in the green as Wall Street felt some relief amid hope for tariff deals.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, tracking the S&P 500, was up 3% at $519.79 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, tracking the Nasdaq 100 index, was up 3.3% at $437.66.

Some U.S.-listed Chinese stocks traded lower despite the broad market rally, including Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA and PDD Holdings Inc. PDD.

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