U.S. Has a Big Ask for China: Buy Less Oil From Russia, More From America
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent weighs pushing the tricky trade-off along with other economic goals prior to the Trump-Xi summit
March 5, 2026
Ahead of President Trump’s visit to Beijing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is considering putting a tricky trade-off on the agenda for coming talks with his Chinese counterpart: reducing China’s oil purchases from U.S. adversaries like Russia.
In private consultations held in recent days with former U.S. officials, business executives and policy analysts, Bessent described a continuing effort to try to get China to instead buy American oil-and-gas products, said people familiar with the meetings. Bessent is thinking about raising the energy issue, the people said, in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Paris in mid-March. They are planning to firm up a framework for the summit between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, currently slated for the beginning of April.
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