Bessent: China’s Economy Is in Recession

U.S. Treasury nominee Scott Besant appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday for his confirmation hearing. The Wall Street veteran shared his insights on trade, U.S. investment to China, and China's economic status. China is the most imbalanced, unbalanced economy in the history of the world. They are in a severe recession slash depression. They may have minus 4% disinflation, and they are attempting to export their way out of that as opposed to doing the much-needed internal rebalance. So I am with you on the need to open markets, but we cannot allow a player like this to flood our markets or to flood the world. Besant's remarks on Chinese exports came after Beijing announced an all-time high trade surplus, and he vowed to fix that as soon as he's confirmed. He said he would push China to purchase American agricultural products, something China has long agreed to but failed to do over the past four years. Besant also emphasized the Treasury's role in defending U.S. national security. The Treasury Department plays a critical role in protecting American national security. We must secure supply chains that are vulnerable to strategic competitors, and we must carefully deploy sanctions as part of a whole-of-government approach to address our national security requirements. I believe these tariffs, you can call it whatever you want in terms of trying to gussy it up, they're going to be paid for by our workers and small businesses. Senator, I would respectfully disagree. Besant also defended Trump's tariff plan during the hearings, saying he would use it as a tool to balance bilateral trade as well as a bargaining chip in negotiations. Besant said he believes that reasonable tariffs could bring America more revenue. When asked whether tariffs would worsen the financial burdens on American households, Besant said he did not believe the costs would pass to shoppers and that China would further cut prices to maintain its market share.