Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at NCUSCR Gala: U.S. Objective with China Is to De-Risk, Not Decouple
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered remarks at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations annual gala on November 10, saying the Trump administration approaches China on the basis of fairness and reciprocity, and stating firmly that "our objective is to de-risk, not to decouple."
Bessent outlined progress under two new bilateral institutions. Under the Board of Trade, he said, the two sides reached consensus to identify more favorable tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods in each direction, and the board launched a working group to address trade barriers in the agricultural sector. He said China had previously agreed to import at least 25 million metric tons of soybeans and 10 million metric tons of coal from the United States over the next two years. The Board of Investment, he said, provides a structured forum for issues such as market access for American companies and predictability for Chinese companies.
On the trade imbalance, Bessent said de-risking means the United States must produce more of what it consumes while China must consume more of what it produces, with the two sides rebalancing together; citing investor Ray Dalio, he said it should be a 'big, beautiful rebalancing.'
Bessent said President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met repeatedly this year — Trump traveled to Beijing in May and Xi came to Washington in September — and that next week he will join Trump in Shenzhen, where the two leaders will meet before a fourth encounter in Miami. He said the two leaders agree the United States and China should build a constructive relationship on the basis of balance and reciprocity.
On technology risk, Bessent announced that, at Trump's direction, the United States has established a new dialogue with China on super intelligence (SI) to guard against shared risks and prevent misunderstanding between the two systems. The two sides expect to exchange best practices for evaluating and testing advanced models before release, keep human judgment firmly in command of the technology, and to establish a direct channel so either nation can promptly alert the other to serious incidents involving its SI models.
Bessent also honored former committee president Steve Orlins and Schwarzman Scholars founder Stephen Schwarzman. The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations was founded in 1966 and marks its 60th anniversary this year.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国财政部总部大楼。GSM 联邦固定图库。 / Photo: U.S. Department of the Treasury headquarters. GSM federal asset library.
