Recent comments from U.S. officials make clear the United States is watching and waiting to see which faction prevails.
When U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a television appearance on Monday to say a Trump-Xi meeting was back on, he said the Chinese had made a “miscalculation” with new restrictions on rare earth exports.
Bessent indicated that amid this trade dispute, the United States is watching as two factions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) grapple to determine the future of U.S.-China relations.
Analysts told The Epoch Times that hardliners are trying to rock the boat ahead of the CCP’s critical Fourth Plenum meeting, while another faction led by the old guard are hoping to smooth things over with the United States.
“[Bessent] understands that the CCP is currently in the midst of a power struggle,” Shen Mingshi, researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told The Epoch Times. “This is why Trump said Xi had a ‘bad moment.’”
Tables Turned
The Chinese regime’s latest round of Oct. 9 export restrictions were met with swift rebuke from the United States. The Chinese regime’s Ministry of Commerce stated it would require licenses for items using more than 0.1 percent rare earth ingredients from China, and would deny use to semiconductor and defense companies.
Trump administration officials sharply criticized the Chinese regime for heightening trade tensions with the United States and the rest of the world. Analysts told The Epoch Times the move only drove Beijing deeper into a corner.
The president, who has previously said the United States has many cards yet to play against China, threatened additional 100 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports, export controls on critical software, and called out China’s boycott of U.S. soybeans, floating the idea that the United States would do the same with cooking oil.
The ball’s in Beijing’s court, officials said, emphasizing that it is in the regime’s best interests to deescalate.
By Yi Ru and Catherine Yang
