Bessent, Rubio Speak With Chinese Officials About Trump–Xi Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he discussed President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during an online meeting on April 30.

“Our meeting was both candid and comprehensive,” Bessent said on X following the video conference. “I stressed that China’s recent provocative extraterritorial regulations have a chilling effect on global supply chains.”

Bessent added that he looks forward to “a productive summit” between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The Chinese readout also described the talks as “candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges of views” and stated that the two sides agreed to use a China–U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism to “build consensus, manage differences, and enhance cooperation.”

According to a statement published by the regime’s Ministry of Commerce, the vice premier raised concerns about “restrictive measures” that the United States has imposed on China in the economic and trade sectors. U.S. Trade ‌Representative Jamieson Greer was also on the call.

The meeting between the top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators took place less than a month before an expected summit between Trump and Xi in Beijing. Trump has said he plans to visit China on May 14 and May 15.

In a separate meeting on April 30, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio talked with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. A U.S. official told The Epoch Times that it was a call in advance of Trump’s trip.

According to a summary of the phone conversation provided by the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang emphasized the importance of the head-of-state diplomacy and warned that Taiwan issues are “the biggest risk factor” in the bilateral relationship.

Rubio and Wang also discussed the Middle East, the Chinese foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

The phone call marked the first publicly known exchange between the top Chinese and U.S. diplomats since U.S. and Israeli forces’ strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28.

The Trump administration has warned the CCP against aiding Iran and threatened a 50 percent U.S. tariff on Chinese exports if the communist regime is confirmed to arm Tehran.

Washington has imposed sanctions on China’s second-largest refinery—Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery—accusing it of buying Iranian oil worth billions of dollars. Forty shipping companies and vessels that were found to serve as Iran’s oil export lifeline were also added to the U.S. sanction list on April 24.

Two Chinese banks also received letters from the U.S. Treasury Department stating that they may face secondary sanctions for any support for Iran, Bessent told a White House briefing earlier in April.

Trump said in an interview that aired on April 21 that U.S. forces captured China’s “gift” to Iran, suggesting that the CCP might have been involved in Iranian forces’ replenishing efforts.

“We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice—a gift from China, perhaps. I don’t know,” Trump told CNBC. “I thought I had an understanding with president Xi. But that’s all right. That’s the way war goes, right?”