U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday insisted that Washington did not want to escalate a trade conflict with China, stressing that President Donald Trump is ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.

Tensions with the U.S. have risen after Trump threatened new tariffs in response to Beijing's restrictions on rare earth exports.

China’s decision to restrict export of rare earth minerals on Oct. 10 triggered a round two of tit-for-tat actions.

The foreign ministers of North Korea and China have agreed to deepen bilateral ties and resist hegemonism, a likely reference to pushing back against the United States.

China sanctioned five American subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean on Tuesday (14 October), prohibiting Chinese organisations and individuals from conducting business with the firms.

But even if a truce is re-established, their latest spat is disturbing. It shows that Mr Trump is happy to contemplate triple-digit tariffs on one of America’s biggest trading partners. Many investors and,