Overview
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers on Tuesday that he will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this weekend and that the talks will explicitly include Iran sanctions and Beijing's financial ties to Tehran.
- The meeting follows recent U.S. moves that broadened secondary sanctions and targeted multiple banks, including measures that reference Russia's VTB Bank, as Washington seeks to choke off channels Tehran uses to move money.
- Officials frame the Bessent-He meeting as a working-level step to narrow differences and set priorities before President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington on September 24.
- The agenda is broader than Iran and will cover trade issues such as tariff adjustments, a proposed Board of Trade to explore duty cuts on roughly $30 billion of goods, rare earth supply commitments, large U.S. agricultural purchase goals, and likely talks on artificial intelligence.
- Markets and prediction markets have moved modestly on the news, and any agreement could affect U.S. exporters and farmers by changing demand for soybeans and other goods while also shaping U.S.-China cooperation or confrontation over Iran.