(MENAFN) US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared Wednesday that a declining stock market will not alter the US government’s approach to trade negotiations or its readiness to take tough actions against China.

Speaking to media, Bessent said, “We won’t negotiate because the stock market is going down” or back away from strong measures targeting Beijing for that reason.

He added, “We will negotiate because we are doing what is best economically for the US.”

Bessent also pushed back on a Wall Street Journal claim suggesting Chinese President Xi Jinping is “betting that the US economy can't absorb a prolonged trade conflict.”

Addressing President Donald Trump’s stance, Bessent noted that while Trump “likes a high stock market,” he “believes that the high stock market is a result of good policies.”

“It’s the policies that we’re talking about here today, in terms of this capex (capital expenditures) boom,” he emphasized, highlighting substantial investments in artificial intelligence.

Bessent’s comments came amid market turbulence following China’s recent expansion of rare earth export restrictions last Thursday, which prompted Trump to threaten 100% tariffs on China.

Despite this, Trump later suggested he might not follow through on his threat, reassuring, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!”

However, on Tuesday, Trump condemned China’s refusal to purchase US soybeans as “an economically hostile act.”

“We are considering terminating business with China having to do with Cooking Oil, and other elements of Trade, as retribution,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “As an example, we can easily produce Cooking Oil ourselves, we don’t need to purchase it from China.”

The ongoing trade tensions continue to fuel uncertainty in markets and diplomatic relations between the world’s two largest economies.

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