Trump ratchets up rhetoric against Beijing as U.S.-China officials meet for Xi's Washington visit

BEIJING — As the U.S. ramped up pressure this week on China with secondary Iran sanctions, the world's two largest economies have still managed to stay focused on ways to cooperate.

It's a sign of the balancing act on both sides, even as White House rhetoric has remained tough.

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled to reporters Thursday local time he could be sanctioning Chinese banks. "I don't have to announce everything," he said, according to a Fox News stream of the event.

Those comments followed a meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials in Beijing on Wednesday, according to official announcements.

U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said in a social media post that he met with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and three other Chinese officials to discuss President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to Washington.

China's readout also noted Perdue's comment on "preparing well for the next stage of important high-level interactions ," according to a CNBC translation of Chinese.

Trump on Thursday even mentioned Xi was coming in a few weeks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday had warned that if Chinese banks "are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted ." It was part of Trump's "economic D-Day" announcements against Iran.