In a stark rebuke of growing European interest in closer ties with China, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has issued a dire warning to EU leaders, stating that any pivot towards Beijing at the expense of Washington would be tantamount to “cutting [their] own throat.” The comment, made during a press briefing on April 9, underscores the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China and signals a renewed push by the US to pressure its allies into taking sides in the ongoing economic confrontation.

Bessent’s remarks came in response to comments earlier the same day by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who, during a diplomatic visit to Asia, suggested that the European Union should reassess its trade relationship with China. Citing increasing unpredictability in American trade policy and a fresh wave of tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump, Sanchez implied that Europe could benefit from closer engagement with Beijing.

“Nobody wins with a trade war. Every country loses,” Sanchez said, striking a conciliatory tone amid mounting global uncertainty. Yet the message was not well received in Washington.

Bessent, speaking to reporters, criticized Sanchez’s position and doubled down on the US position that China poses a structural threat to the global trading system.

“The economic minister in Spain made some comments this morning, ‘Oh, well, maybe we should align ourselves more with China,’ – that would be cutting your own throat,” Bessent warned. “These Chinese exports that the US tariff wall is gonna keep out… the Chinese business model… it........

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