U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that high tariffs between the United States and China are not sustainable, as President Donald Trump's administration signaled openness to de-escalating a trade war between the world's two largest economies that has raised fears of recession.

Stock futures were pointing to losses on Thursday, with investors still trying to make sense of the U.S.-China trade war after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled that Washington and Beijing were yet to start negotiations on tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied a Wall Street Journal report that the White House is considering unilaterally slashing tariffs on Chinese imports, saying that both sides need to mutually take down tariff levels before trade talks can begin.