US doesn't want to decouple with China: Bessent

STOCKHOLM: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated on Tuesday that the United States doesn't want to decouple with China as the two sides wrapped up the latest round of "constructive" trade talks in Stockholm, Sweden.

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US and China held constructive trade talks in Stockholm, building on earlier meetings in Geneva and London.
Treasury Secretary Bessent emphasized the US does not seek economic decoupling from China, aiming for continued cooperation.
Both sides agreed to maintain communication and work toward extending the pause on reciprocal tariffs to support stability.

Speaking at a press briefing after the conclusion of the two-day China-U.S. economic and trade talks in the Swedish capital, Bessent said the latest meeting has continued to build on the progress of the previous discussions in Geneva in May and London in June.

"I'm happy to say that London built on Geneva, Stockholm built on London and Geneva. I think we had great momentum going into the meeting. So now here you have the two largest economies in negotiation. And as I've said before, and we reiterated to them (the Chinese side), we don't want to decouple," said Bessent.

In a separate briefing, China's international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice minister of commerce Li Chenggang said that the economic and trade teams of China and the United States held in-depth, candid and constructive exchanges over important topics of mutual interest.

The two sides will continue pushing for the continued extension of the pause on the 24 percent "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the U.S. side, as well as the counter measures taken by the Chinese side, said Li.

Both sides are fully aware of the importance of safeguarding stable and sound China-U.S. economic ties, Li said, adding that the two sides held candid exchanges over each other's major trade and economic concerns.

They also reviewed the implementation of the consensuses reached at the Geneva and London meetings and gave full affirmation to the progress made, Li said.

Chinese and U.S. economic and trade teams will maintain close communication, conduct timely exchanges on trade and economic issues, and continue to promote the stable and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations, Li added.