China's vice minister warns US of 'global chaos'— Bloomberg
Photo: Chinese Vice Minister threatened the US with 'global chaos' (Getty Images)
The US sharply criticized Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chengang, saying that he arrived in Washington uninvited and behaved unbalanced. He allegedly threatened global chaos, Bloomberg reports.
Uncoordinated visit to Washington
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that Li Chenggang's August visit to the US capital was not coordinated with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
"Perhaps the vice minister, who appeared here with very inflammatory language on August 28, has lost his mind," the agency quoted the Secretary.
"This individual was very disrespectful," added Bassett, who earlier called the Chinese official "unhinged."
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment on these statements.
Li Chenggang
Li Chenggang, 58, was appointed vice minister of commerce and China's trade representative in April after President Trump announced new tariffs.
He previously represented China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva and participated in trade negotiations with the US.
China's Ministry of Commerce said Li visited Washington for meetings with Treasury, Commerce, and Trade officials, where he emphasized the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Escalating rhetoric between US and China
However, Bessent described the visit differently.
According to him, Li threatened that China would "cause global chaos" if the US continued with its plans to introduce port fees.
"Maybe he thinks he’s a wolf warrior," the Treasury Secretary added.
The agency spoke with experts who noted that Bessent's statements are intended to send Xi a message that he must abandon the latest export control measures if he wants to reach an agreement with President Trump.
At the same time, former WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell, who communicated with Li during his work in Geneva, described the Chinese official as a tough but patient negotiator who "knew his stuff" and "didn’t allow the US to push him around".
According to experts, it is highly unlikely that Li's actions were anything other than approved by Xi in Beijing, as Chinese officials rarely act independently, especially under Xi Jinping's centralized rule.
US and China trade tensions
Tensions between the world's two largest economies have escalated after China imposed new restrictions on exports of rare earth metals.
In response, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.
On October 15, Trump said that the United States could completely stop trading with China in a number of areas.
According to him, Beijing is deliberately refusing to buy American soybeans. After this statement, the US stock market lost about $450 billion in just seven minutes.
