Amid heightened volatility on Wall Street due to the escalation of trade tensions between the United States and China, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made some significant remarks on Wednesday.
While speaking to CNBC, Bessent said the US will not change its negotiating stance on China despite recent stock market declines linked to escalating trade tensions.
The remarks come as the United States as announced additional 100% tariffs on China from November 1, a move came in response to China’s controversial restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, a critical resource for technology and defense industries.
Bessent accused China of attempting to weaken the global economy amid its internal recession struggles.
‘China versus the world’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently weighed in on the growing tensions between the US and China over rare earth minerals, which are vital for the tech and defense industries.
He painted a pretty stark picture, describing the situation as “China versus the world,” and accused Beijing of using export controls as a strategic move.
According to Bessent, China is leveraging these restrictions during its economic slowdown to shake up the global economy, especially with the possible upcoming summit between President Trump and President Xi on the horizon.
Bessent also highlighted the US’s efforts to rally allies like India and European nations to counter China’s dominance in this critical supply chain.
Even though the US has its own trade disagreements with some of these partners, the goal is to strengthen cooperation and reduce global dependence on Chinese rare earths.
His comments hint at a bigger strategy: securing alternative supply chains and maintaining industrial independence.
These moves are shaping not just trade relationships, but also defense capabilities and global economic stability as the US-China rivalry heats up.
Wall Street opens in green
After a considerable drop on Tuesday, Wall Street indices opened in a better shape today, as the Dow Jones gained 161 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 increased by 0.7%, and the Nasdaq advanced by 1%.
The upbeat mood on Wall Street came against the backdrop of Bank of America shares surging 4% after posting third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, thanks to robust investment banking revenue.
Similarly, Morgan Stanley reported a record quarter with net revenues of $18.2 billion and a profit of $4.6 billion, driven by successful dealmaking and trading activity.
Wall Street is showing some strong momentum, even with trade uncertainties and geopolitical tensions, particularly with China over rare earth exports in the background.
While earnings are looking good, experts caution that the market might still drift sideways, pointing to ongoing trade worries and the possibility of a prolonged US government shutdown affecting investor confidence.
Still, the recent jump in bank profits highlights how resilient the financial sector has been, even as trade fears continue to weigh on broader market sentiment.
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