WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted on Tuesday that China could lose 10 million jobs quickly due to tariffs and that Beijing will see over time that Chinese tariffs are not sustainable.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back President Donald Trump's assertion that tariff talks with China were under way and said he did not know if the U.S. president had talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

As I repeatedly said, I believe that it’s up to China to de-escalate, because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them,” Bessent said Monday morning on CNBC. So

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “all aspects” of the US government are in contact with China but that it’s up to Beijing to take the first step in de-escalating the tariff fight with the US due to the imbalance of trade between the two nations.

The Chinese exempting some goods from tariffs indicates they are interested in reducing tensions, Bessent said