The sources that participated in the investor meeting further state that Bessent said that negotiations with China have not begun, but an agreement is possible, and that the two countries in practice have a trade embargo against each other since the tariffs are now so high.
The American finance department has not directly commented on Bloomberg's news agency reports.
The American stock exchanges initially rose sharply after the reports were published, before falling back slightly again. Additionally, both the dollar exchange rate against other currencies and trading in American government bonds stabilized.
"A sigh of relief"
Bessent is said to have stated that the actual negotiations with China will be "a struggle", but considering today's tariff levels, neither of the countries believes that "status quo is sustainable".
He is also said to have stated that a decrease in tensions between the two economic superpowers "should give the world, the markets a sigh of relief".
"In the right direction"
On Tuesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, also said that President Donald Trump wants to signal positive tones about a possible agreement with Beijing.
"The ball is moving in the right direction", according to Leavitt.
However, she does not want to say whether Trump has spoken with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The USA has imposed tariffs of 145 percent on Chinese goods, while China has responded with tariffs of 125 percent on American goods.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Tuesday that global growth is expected to fall to 2.8 percent this year and 3.0 percent in 2026, and that the prognosis would have looked better if the tariffs had not been introduced on April 2.
