Speaking at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) Global Outlook Forum in Washington on April 23, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there is a real opportunity for a “big deal” between the United States and China on trade and global financial reform.
“If China wants to rebalance, let’s do it together,” Bessent said, referencing Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio’s term “a beautiful rebalancing.” Dalio recently warned that Trump’s tariff and economic policies could lead to “something worse than a recession.”
Currently, the U.S. imposes tariffs as high as 145% on certain Chinese goods. But according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is considering scaling those duties back to 50%-65%, which would still be historically high.
Bessent signaled optimism, stating that a “de-escalation” in the U.S.-China trade confrontation may happen in the near future. He called it a moment of great opportunity to reshape the rules of global finance.
He outlined a “blueprint to restore equilibrium” to the global system, specifically targeting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Bessent argued that these Bretton Woods institutions have strayed from their mission and must be reformed to better serve their stakeholders.
Bessent was particularly critical of the World Bank’s ongoing lending to countries like China, which he says have long met the criteria to “graduate” from borrowing status. “There is no justification for this continued lending,” he said. “It crowds out private markets and disincentivizes sustainable, job-rich growth.”
He added: “Treating China—the world’s second-largest economy—as a developing country is absurd. China has risen impressively, sometimes at the cost of Western markets. If it wants to play a global leadership role, it needs to act the part.”
Bessent also defended President Trump’s aggressive actions to restore U.S. manufacturing and supply chain resilience, stating that “intentional policy choices by other nations have hollowed out American industry and compromised national security.
