US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has accused China of trying to hurt the world’s economy after Beijing imposed sweeping export controls on rare earths and critical minerals, hitting global supply chains.
Bessent said that China’s introduction of the controls – three weeks before US President Donald Trump is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea – reflected problems in its own economy.
“This is a sign of how weak their economy is, and they want to pull everybody else down with them,” Mr Bessent said on Monday.
“Maybe there is some Leninist business model where hurting your customers is a good idea, but they are the largest supplier to the world,” he added. “If they want to slow down the global economy, they will be hurt the most.”
Mr Bessent added: “They are in the middle of a recession/depression, and they are trying to export their way out of it.
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