U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday he's optimistic about reaching a trade agreement with China as President Donald Trump launched a sweeping new round of tariffs affecting dozens of countries.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that he believed that Washington has the makings of a deal with China and that he was "optimistic" about the path forward.

The Treasury head said recent trade deals announced by the US — including with the European Union and Japan — created a “lot more leverage” and promised China will not get a “special deal,” despite being America’s third largest trading partner among individual nations.