Bessent: Aircraft Engines and Certain Chemicals Could Become Bargaining Chips in U.S.–China Negotiations

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (center), July 22, 2025

[People News] U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday (Sept. 24) that in U.S.–China trade negotiations, facing the CCP’s restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, the United States is not without bargaining chips. American aircraft engines and their components, as well as certain chemicals, can be important leverage for the U.S. in negotiations with the CCP.

According to a VOA report, Bessent said Wednesday in an interview on Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria that rare earth minerals from China are entering the U.S., but America is continuing efforts to increase the supply of certain strategic materials and products in five to six key industries.

“We are not without bargaining chips. We have many products that they need to rely on us for,” Bessent said, listing aircraft engines and their components, certain chemicals and plastics, as well as some silicon ingredients.

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said Tuesday that negotiations between the United States and China on a “massive” order of Boeing aircraft are entering the final stage. This deal may ultimately become an important part of a broader trade agreement between the two countries.

In the interview, Bessent emphasized that the United States is not seeking to “decouple” from China, but must “de-risk.”

Bessent also said that the U.S. initial public offering (IPO) market is another form of leverage that Washington can use in negotiations with the CCP. He noted that he and other Trump administration officials have already held four meetings with their Chinese counterparts, and in each meeting, they discussed these bargaining chips.

He added that the U.S. and China will meet two more times in October and November before the November 10 expiration of the tariff suspension deadline. On August 11, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to continue suspending tariff increases on China.

Bessent said: “You see, we engage with them with mutual respect. They are the world’s second-largest economy, but the United States has made it clear that we have priorities, we have our own interests, and we will defend those interests.” △