“No one wins in a war. But it’s proportionality. And the proportionality for the Chinese is going to be much worse,” Bessent said.

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President Donald Trump’s sweeping 104% tariff on Chinese goods came into effect at midnight ET, escalating tensions further. In response, China not only raised its tariff on US goods from 34% to 84%, but also filed a formal complaint at the World Trade Organization and rolled out new restrictions on a dozen US companies, while adding six more to its “unreliable entity list.”

Despite the economic standoff, Bessent noted that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping maintain a “very good personal relationship,” and said the US and China “can move together” if both sides realign — the US toward manufacturing, China toward consumption.

Trump, meanwhile, used his Truth Social platform to pitch the US as the ideal destination for global business relocation. “ZERO TARIFFS, and almost immediate Electrical/Energy hook ups and approvals. No Environmental Delays. DON’T WAIT, DO IT NOW!” he wrote, urging companies to shift operations to the US.