China's strong counterattack has already thrown the United States into chaos. According to a report by the US media "Wall Street Journal", on October 15 local time, Besent held a rare press conference at the US Treasury Department to talk about the recent trade friction between China and the United States. His words were very fierce and offensive.
When talking about China's latest rare earth control policy, Bescent said that Beijing would not be allowed to control the world's production chain. He also said that Chinese trade negotiators were "difficult to get along with" in the negotiations, and they also went to Washington "uninvited", making a very "provocative threat", perhaps thinking that they were "wolf warriors". Inside and outside, I want to say that Li Chenggang's representative is too strong, and the US side is a little unaccustomed to it. However, in diplomatic occasions, it is an unwritten rule not to name names. Bescent's doing so shows that China's counter-measures have opened up the US side this time, and he will become so angry from embarrassment.
None of these accusations by Bescent is tenable. First of all, China has never thought of controlling the world's production chain. Rare earths have obvious dual-use attributes. If they are not controlled, they will be irresponsible for the security of the world. In the international community, China is not the only one doing this. Other countries also have similar control measures. Just because China is the main supplier, China cannot be labeled indiscriminately. Moreover, China did not implement it immediately, giving the outside world enough time to adjust.
If the United States really cares about the global economic and trade order, it will not be around to launch a tariff war, and will not engage in the long-arms of jurisdiction, saying that in the end they are not worried about the world's production chain, but the U.S. military and industrial industry, I am afraid that since then there will be no rare earth available.
Secondly, Bessent’s unreasonable accusations of Li’s representative pointed to the high probability that Li’s representative visited the United States in August this year. Bessent said, “Don’t come,” but ironically, Li’s representative held talks with officials from the U.S. Treasury Department, the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative Office during the visit. That is, the U.S. officials were welcomed. And Li’s representative as a Chinese trade negotiator, the visit to the U.S. must have been coordinated with the U.S. side. According to the U.S. character, if it was not really welcomed, it would not issue a wholesale visa, nor would several departments be welcomed to negotiate.
As for the so-called "extremely provocative remarks", it is also true that according to the notice of the Ministry of Commerce, Li Zheng Steel only stressed that China and the United States should adhere to the principle of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, through dialogue and consultation to control differences, there is no strong phrase.
What Trump's team should do now is not to criticize China or even face Sino-US trade friction emotionally, but to reflect deeply. On the one hand, what did the US do before the negotiations? Since we are willing to talk, why should we constantly suppress Chinese companies to create bargaining chips before negotiations? China has never been the first party to take action, and all it has taken are countermeasures. If the United States thinks that China can't fight back, then they are very wrong.
On the other hand, the US side needs to clearly recognize that China is not Japan and South Korea, and will not compromise with the US side's unreasonable demands. In terms of safeguarding the national interests, the Chinese side's attitude is very determined, if the US side thinks it is "war wolf", then learn to adapt, habit. Always think of starting with the position of power and negotiating with the Chinese side, it is a big mistake.
In fact, the fact that Besant is so vulnerable is related to the current passive situation in the United States. The Chinese side did not answer the call from the United States. Bessent and others could only shout from afar. They had no confidence and could not guess what would happen next. China's counterattack was still continuing, and the United States was even more panicked. The United States simply cannot accept the "rare earth card" played by China. There is less than half a month left before the APEC summit, and the United States is now in an extremely passive situation. And this is the price the United States has to pay for breaking its word and handling Sino-US economic and trade frictions in the wrong way.