Bessent cites trade progress after meeting China’s He Lifeng in Davos

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he met with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng a day earlier on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in advance of US President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated speech to the global body on Wednesday.

Bessent’s account of the sit-down between the main interlocutors over the past tumultuous year between Beijing and Washington suggests the pieces are in place to go ahead with a summit in Beijing between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.

“I had a meeting with my Chinese counterpart here in Davos last night,” Bessent said on Fox Business during an interview on the main stage of the forum in the Swiss Alps. “They’ve done everything that they said they’re going to do.”

The former investment banker and Trump fundraiser said Beijing has lived up to its word to buy soybeans and that Washington is looking forward to China buying some 25 million tons in 2026 before adding that the Asian giant could make the US president happier if it were to “buy a little more”.

Away from the cameras and political spotlight, however, farmers are less sanguine, noting that little of it has shipped, Chinese purchases of Brazilian and Argentinian grain have soared and much of their 2025 season has been lost.

The US farm vote is a key ingredient in Trump’s all-out bid to avoid either house of Congress from turning over to the opposition Democrats, which would allow them to block legislation, investigate his administration and otherwise slow down his whirlwind 2025 momentum.

South China Morning Post