The United States on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on China’s economic approach, calling its export driven model “unsustainable,” which harms not only China but also the rest of the world.
Speaking at the IIF Global Outlook Forum in Washington, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent stressed rising concerns around trade imbalances that US President Donald Trump hopes to address through his sweeping tariff policies.
Still, Bessent insisted that, “America First does not mean America alone.”

He also defended Trump administration’s moves, labeling them as a measure to encourage “deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners,” while fixing “intentional policy choices” by other nations that have weakened US manufacturing and put its security “at risk.”
Taking aim at the “status quo” of persistent global trade imbalances, warning, “it is not sustainable for the United States, and ultimately, it is not sustainable for other economies.”
His comments came amid ongoing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Trump has repeatedly called out China for its trade practices and imposed sweeping tariffs in an attempt to rebalance the scales.
He also called for major changes to the IMF and World Bank, saying both have strayed from their original missions.
The IMF, he said “has no obligation to lend to countries that fail to implement reforms,” and said that the marker for the institution’s success should be economic stability and growth rather than money it lends out.
Bessent added that the World Bank should also “no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by half-hearted commitments to reform.”