US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses the press on the day of US-China talks on trade, economic and national security issues, in Madrid, Spain, September 15, 2025.
Violeta Santos Moura | Reuters
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused China of trying to weaken the global economy by relaxing export controls on resources critical to technology.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Bessent said the moves around rare earths and minerals are an attempt by China “to drag everyone else down with it.”
“If they want to slow down the global economy, they will be hit the hardest,” he said.
China's move comes just before a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping.
In an Oct. 9 announcement, Beijing said it will not allow the export of rare earths for military use, the first time it has targeted that specific use. The US uses rare earth magnets for many of its major weapons systems, such as the F-35 fighter jet, Tomahawk missiles and smart bombs.
Trump has responded with 100% tariffs on Chinese goods from November 1 and threatened to cancel the meeting with Xi. Markets have been volatile since the dispute escalated, with Wall Street stock averages falling sharply early in the day Tuesday.
“They are in the middle of a recession/depression and are trying to export themselves out of it. The problem is that they are worsening their position in the world,” Bessent told the FT.
