reasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that China’s decision to retaliate against President Trump’s trade measures would ultimately be a strategic misstep.

“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world. And I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them,” Bessent said during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria.

Bessent pointed to China’s structural dependence on exports to the U.S. as a key vulnerability, arguing that internal economic experts within China are likely aware of the disadvantage.

“They have some very smart economists, the academicians, technocrats within their bureaucracy, and they would be telling the leadership that we do not have the edge here,” he said. “They are the surplus country. Their exports to the U.S. are five times our exports to China. So, they can raise their tariffs. But, so what?”

On Wednesday, China announced a new 50% tariff on U.S. goods, bringing total tariffs on American exports to 84%, following last week’s 34% retaliatory tariff in response to the Trump administration’s trade crackdown.

Host Maria Bartiromo pressed Bessent on the potential domestic impact of a “soft war” with China—specifically whether American consumers might feel the economic pain before Chinese citizens do.

“No one wins in a war, but it’s about proportionality,” Bessent replied. “And the proportionality for the Chinese is going to be much worse.”

He also suggested that a productive step forward would involve China acknowledging its role in the flow of chemicals used to produce fentanyl.

“And the other thing too, Maria, what would be a very good, a very good step with the Chinese would be acknowledging that the precursor chemicals for fentanyl come from China,” he added.