Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Tuesday that President Donald Trump's upcoming April visit to Beijing will focus on dismantling China's massive trade imbalances, signaling a shift toward aggressive economic self-reliance.

The Road To Beijing

Speaking at the BTG Pactual CEO Conference, Bessent signaled that the administration will use the meeting to confront a $1 trillion trade surplus he labeled “impossible” to maintain, while pivoting the U.S. toward a new era of industrial independence.

The Treasury Secretary solidified the timeline for the spring summit, noting that recent high-level staff visits to China have cleared the diplomatic path. He framed the visit as a necessary step to rebalance a relationship that has become lopsided.

“The world cannot have a situation where China persistently runs a $1 trillion trade surplus. That’s just not possible,” Bessent stated. He emphasized that the April engagement would be a primary venue to address these imbalances, noting that while the U.S. wants a productive relationship, the “impossible” status quo of current trade flows must end.

This trip is expected to be the first of up to four bilateral meetings between the two leaders in 2026, aimed at cementing the fragile equilibrium reached after the October trade truce.

Thanks to the mutual respect between @POTUS and President Xi, the U.S.–China relationship has reached ...