WASHINGTON: The subsequent spherical of US-China talks might embrace Chinese language purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned on Monday (Jul 21), a transfer that may shift the main focus of commerce negotiations into nationwide safety points.
US President Donald Trump has imposed recent tariffs on allies and opponents alike this 12 months, and Washington and Beijing in April quickly hiked duties on one another’s items in a tit-for-tat escalation.
However after high-level talks in Geneva and London, the world’s two largest economies briefly lowered tariff ranges till mid-August whereas discussions continued.
“I feel commerce is in a great place,” Bessent instructed CNBC in an interview. “And I feel now we will begin speaking about different issues.”
“The Chinese language sadly, are very massive purchasers of sanctioned Iranian oil, sanctioned Russian oil. So we might begin discussing that,” he mentioned.
China’s place as the principle purchaser of Iranian oil has served as a key lifeline for Tehran as its financial system is battered by worldwide sanctions.
The world’s second largest financial system can be a key purchaser of Russian power.
