US may seek more stakes in strategic companies to counter China, Bessent says

The Trump administration will seek to tighten control over strategic sectors by taking more equity stakes in key companies to counter China's economic policies and export restrictions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

Bessent told a CNBC event that China's dramatic new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets demonstrates the need for the U.S. to be self-sufficient in critical materials or rely more on trusted allies. "So when you are facing a non-market economy like China, then you have to exercise industrial policy," Bessent said.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. has shifted from subsidies to direct stakes in companies including Intel Corp , minerals miner Trilogy Metals and rare earths miner MP Materials. More stakes are possible for sectors important t