The Head Of The US Treasury Department Compared China's Actions In The Trade War To Lenin's Business Model

• 14.10.2025, 18:31

Scott Bessent viewed the Chinese authorities' actions as a sign the PRC's economy is weak.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused China of trying to damage the global economy following Beijing's decision to tighten its export control regime on rare earth metals. He viewed the Chinese authorities' actions as a sign the PRC's economy is weak and "they want to pull everyone else down with them."

"There may be some Leninist business model that says hurting your customers is a good idea, but they are the largest supplier in the world," the minister said in an interview with Financial Times.

He added that if China was going to slow down the global economy, it would itself "suffer the most."

The FT's sources say Washington has already prepared a package of measures that could be implemented if the US and China fail to reach agreement on a trade deal. This includes the idea of obliging all companies exporting any software to China to obtain a special license. As the publication notes, this "could have a significant impact on the Chinese industry".