AsianFin -- As the U.S.–China tariff war escalates, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that all options are being considered, including delisting Chinese stocks from U.S. exchanges.

In an interview with Fox Business, Bessent responded to questions about how far the Trump administration might go. “We are putting in process export controls for high-value, security-related goods,” he said. “We are talking about… a blacklist of things that… investors should not be investing in to fund the Chinese military machine.”

When asked about whether Chinese stocks could be delisted, he said: “Everything is on the table.”

U.S. President Trump is still calling the shots, but Bessent hinted at how high-level this issue could go: “President Trump [and] Chairman Xi have a very good personal relationship, and I am confident this will be resolved at the highest level.”

“The Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate,” Bessent said. “They are the worst offenders in the international trading system. They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world.”

According to China’s Office of the Tariff Commission, the new tariffs will take effect April 10. The commission described the U.S. tariffs as “a mistake on top of a mistake,” signaling no intention to de-escalate.

The tit-for-tat is already rattling global markets. The S&P 500 has plunged nearly 20% this month, and Asian indices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and South Korea have also tumbled.  

U.S. trade data shows that China imported $143.5 billion in American goods last year—while exporting over $438.9 billion to the U.S. With tariffs now blanketing nearly all trade between the two nations, the world’s two largest economies appear locked in a standoff that could reshape the global market.

“This escalation is a loser for them,” Bessent insisted.