"I would say that they are a bit stalled," Bessent told broadcaster Fox News when asked about trade talks with Beijing.

"I believe that we will be having more talks with them in the next few weeks, and I believe we may, at some point, have a call between the president and party chair Xi," he said.

The world's two biggest economies agreed this month to pause reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, a surprise de-escalation in their bitter trade war following talks between top officials in Geneva.

Under the May 12 truce, Washington agreed to temporarily reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from 145 percent, while China said it would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent.

"I think that given the magnitude of the talks, given the complexity, that this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other," Bessent said.

"They have a very good relationship, and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known."

Asked about the comments at a regular news conference on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing had "stated its position on the tariffs issue many times".

China has blasted Trump's tariffs and sought to cast itself as the defender of the multilateral order in light of the US president's sweeping levies that have upended international commerce.

"On specifics, I suggest you refer to competent authorities," Lin said.

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