China has dismissed its outspoken trade negotiator Li Chenggang as the country’s lead representative to the World Trade Organization. The move comes just days after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly referred to him as “unhinged” following a heated outburst.
Li, 58, was dismissed from his post as part of a wider diplomatic reshuffling ordered by Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua announced Monday. Li had previously been reassigned as the nation’s lead trade negotiator back in April, though his outright dismissal comes almost immediately after Bessent’s public rebuke, as tense trade negotiations continue between Washington and Beijing, the New York Post reported.
Last week, Bessent suggested that Li had “gone rogue” and accused him of making numerous “incendiary language” during a trip to Washington D.C. back in August. “This individual was very disrespectful,” Bessent told reporters, further describing the Chinese negotiator as “unhinged.”
A source briefed on the August visit told The Post that Li had arrived uninvited, and proceeded to demand high-level meetings and “restated China’s false narratives” about trade. This irritated senior U.S. trade negotiators, as the Trump Administration was already fuming over Beijing’s new export restrictions on critical minerals.
A spokesperson for the Chinese government disputed Bessent’s characterization.
“The US remarks seriously distort the facts,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Post. “The US should work with China to address relevant issues through dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit, rather than bullying, threatening and intimidating China.”
Earlier this month, President Trump threatened to reimplement 100 percent tariffs in response to China’s recent export restrictions, while Beijing continues to impose trade barriers on U.S. agricultural and industrial goods.