Scott Bessent Leaves London as China Trade Talks Continue

LONDON— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent left the trade talks with China around 9:45 Tuesday night but said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would continue the talks.

Bessent is flying back to Washington, D.C. for hearings on Capitol Hill set to begin on Wednesday. A person familiar with the matter said the Treasury Secretary had to leave by 10 p.m. at the lastest to make it back for a House Ways and Means Committee hearing.

Bessent said the talks with the Chinese delegation would continue as long as needed.

“We had two days of effective talks,” Bessent said in the gaslamp-lit courtyard of the Lancaster House, the historic London mansion where the trade talks have been happening.

The talks have stretched into Tuesday night, far longer than expected. U.S. officials say there is a possiblity the talks may continue on Wednesday.