Treasury Secretary Bessent says a stock market decline won't deter the U.S. from taking strong action against China

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Wednesday that the U.S. won’t change its trade negotiating stance on China due to stock market volatility.

“We won’t negotiate because the stock market is going down” or shy away from taking strong measures against Beijing for that reason, Bessent said in an exclusive interview at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum.

“We will negotiate because we are doing what is best economically for the U.S.,” he said.

Bessent also pushed back on a report in The Wall Street Journal overnight that Chinese President Xi Jinping is “betting that the U.S. economy can’t absorb a prolonged trade conflict” with Beijing.

The Cabinet secretary called that report “terrible,” accusing the newspaper of taking “CCP dictation.”