President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day de-escalation in tariffs with China has reignited debate over U.S.–China relations, with Republican strategist Scott Jennings citing recent meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials as evidence of Beijing’s disregard for Joe Biden’s leadership during his term in office.

The remarks followed weekend meetings in Switzerland between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and senior Chinese officials, in which, according to Bessent, Chinese representatives admitted they had no concern about enforcement of trade agreements during the Biden-Harris administration.

“In January 2020, President Trump produced a template. We had an excellent trade agreement with China, and the Biden administration chose not to enforce it,” Bessent said Monday on Bloomberg Surveillance.

“The Chinese delegation basically told us that once President Biden came into office, they just ignored their obligations.”

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Trump, who campaigned in 2024 on revitalizing American manufacturing and strengthening trade terms with Beijing, announced the 90-day de-escalation period on tariffs Monday via Truth Social.

The announcement follows his April 9 rollout of a new tariff structure targeting Chinese imports.

According to Trump, the temporary pause is meant to give both sides room to continue discussions while maintaining pressure on Beijing.

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Appearing on CNN to discuss the development, Scott Jennings pointed to the shift in tone from Beijing as validation of Trump’s harder approach.

“This whole idea that he’s weak on China — did you not read the news about what Secretary Bessent found out in these meetings?” Jennings said, responding to earlier comments from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who had suggested Trump was pursuing a “bromance” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“During the Biden Administration the Chinese officials said, ‘Yeah, we knew we could ignore Biden. We could ignore whatever agreements we had because he was too weak and would never, ever stand up to us or stop us.’”

Jennings continued, “Now they’ve been drug to the table by a strong American president. And for all the talk from China, from Beijing, ‘Oh, we’re going to outlast the Americans. We’re fortified to outlast the Americans,’ a few days into this, they’re in Switzerland cutting the beginnings of a deal that’s going to be good for the United States.”

He added that the development was “a total win for the president” and praised Bessent as “a rock star” for securing movement from the Chinese side.

Former Biden campaign aide Ashley Allison took issue with Jennings’ comments, accusing him of shifting focus to Biden as a deflection.

“You know you’re losing when you have to bring Joe Biden into the narrative,” Allison said.

“I didn’t say it,” Jennings replied.

“The Chinese did. They are losing. I agree with you. The Chinese are losing. They brought it up.”

Allison argued that invoking Biden showed weakness in the Trump administration’s position, to which Jennings again responded that it was not his assertion but a direct quote from the Chinese delegation, as relayed by Bessent.

The tariff pause comes as Trump continues to reassert a nationalist trade agenda that was a central feature of his first administration and his 2024 campaign.

The pause is expected to last through the summer as both sides continue trade negotiations.

No further details on a final agreement have yet been released.

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