U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to the press on the day of U.S.-China negotiations on trade, economic and national security issues, in Madrid, Spain, September 15, 2025.
Violeta Santos Moura | Reuters
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused China of trying to weaken the global economy by imposing export controls on resources vital to technology.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Bessent said the moves regarding rare earths and minerals are an attempt by China to “take everyone down with it.”
“If they want to slow down the global economy, they will suffer the most,” he said.
This decision by China comes just before a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping.
In an October 9 announcement, Beijing said it would not allow the export of rare earths for military purposes, the first time it has targeted this specific use. The United States uses rare earth magnets for many of its most important weapons systems, such as the F-35 warplane, Tomahawk missiles and smart bombs.
Trump responded by imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese goods starting November 1 and threatened to cancel the meeting with Xi. Markets have been volatile since the escalation of the conflict, with Wall Street stock averages falling sharply to start the day Tuesday.
“They are in the middle of a recession/depression and they are trying to export to get out of it. The problem is that they are exacerbating their position in the world,” Bessent told the FT.
