Bessent described the current bilateral trade situation as a two-way embargo, and neither side sees the status quo as sustainable, the person said.
Bessent added that the goal of US President Donald Trump's administration was not to decouple the world's two largest economies.
Instead, Bessent said that he was hoping for a "big, beautiful rebalancing" of China's economy towards more consumption and the U.S. economy towards more manufacturing but it was unclear whether officials in Beijing were ready to do that, the source said.
Bessent spoke to a private investment conference in Washington DC held by JP Morgan Chase on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings.
Bloomberg first reported some of his remarks from sources in the room.
Bessent said that the current situation, with 145 per cent US tariffs on Chinese goods and 125 per cent Chinese tariffs on US goods, was unsustainable, saying that a de-escalation would happen over the "very near future" that would provide "a sigh of relief" for markets, the person said.
Bessent's remarks added to positive corporate earnings momentum on Wall Street, which recovered from Monday's sell-off sparked by Trump's criticism of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the United States is doing well in its discussions about a potential trade deal with China.
"I asked the president about this before coming out here, and he wanted me to share with all of you that we're doing very well in respect to a potential trade deal with China," she told a briefing.
The administration has received trade deal proposals from 18 countries while officials, including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, are meeting this week with representatives from 34 countries to discuss trade, the White House said.
