Treasury Secretary Bessent says a stock market decline won't deter the U.S. from taking strong action against China

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Wednesday that the U.S. won't change its trade negotiating stance on China due to stock market volatility.

"We won't negotiate because the stock market is going down" or shy away from taking strong measures against Beijing for that reason, Bessent said in an exclusive interview at CNBC's Invest in America Forum.

"We will negotiate because we are doing what is best economically for the U.S.," he said.

Bessent pushed back on a report in The Wall Street Journal overnight that China "expects that the prospect of another market meltdown ultimately will force [President Donald Trump] to negotiate."

Chinese President Xi Jinping is "betting that the U.S. economy can't absorb a prolonged trade conflict" with China, the Journal reported, citing people close to Beijing's decision-making. 

The Cabinet secretary called that report "terrible," accusing the newspaper of taking "CCP dictation."

His comments came as markets have whipsawed in recent days, as the status of ongoing trade talks between the world's largest economies appeared to teeter.

Stocks tanked on Friday after Trump threatened to hike tariffs on Chinese imports in retaliation for new export controls that China imposed on rare earth minerals.

Trump appeared to soften his tone over the weekend, spurring a market rebound on Monday. Major stock indexes bounced around in volatile trading Tuesday; the S&P 500 took a dive before the session close after Trump issued yet another trade threat against China, this one accusing Beijing of economic hostility for not buying U.S. soybeans.

Bessent added Wednesday that while Trump "likes a high stock market," he "believes that the high stock market is a result of good policies."

"It's the policies that we're talking about here today, in terms of this capex boom," Bessent said, highlighting increased investment in artificial intelligence.