Bessent defends Trump economic policies, reveals plans to meet Chinese official

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday. WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended a range of Trump administration economic policies before lawmakers on Tuesday, from currency and bond market interventions to AI safety, disclosing plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart this weekend. Bessent told a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would continue discussions next week on Iran and China's financial links to Tehran. Washington has been seeking to shut Iran out of Western financial systems as the Iran war stretches into its seventh month. The hearing was nominally on the international finance system, including reforms to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, but lawmakers peppered Bessent with questions about more pressing issues, such as the state of financial markets and the economy, and the administration's financial measures against Iran.