Speaking before the Institute of International Finance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent leveled criticism of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, urging them to go "back to basics" in their focus as financial institutions, but also offered support, stressing the United States' desire to continue its leadership role.

"America First does not mean America alone. To the contrary, it is a call for deeper collaboration and mutual respect among trade partners," Bessent said. "Far from stepping back, America First seeks to expand U.S. leadership in international institutions like the IMF and World Bank."

The U.S. commitment to the institutions is notable, as some feared the U.S. could walk away from the IMF and World Bank under President Donald Trump.

"The IMF has suffered from mission creep," Bessent said while criticizing the IMF and World Bank.

"The IMF was once unwavering in its mission of promoting global monetary cooperation and financial stability. Now it devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender, and social issues," Bessent said, adding that these are "not the IMF's mission."

This criticism comes one day after the IMF warned that the U.S. and the global economy will be hit hard following Trump's tariffs.

— ABC News' Molly Nagle and Kelsey Walsh

President Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the North Lawn Wednesday morning, continuing his relatively positive tone about tariffs. He said the U.S. is "actively" talking to China and reiterated his confidence that "we are going to have a fair deal with China."

He added that the country was losing "not a billion – a trillion" dollars a day under other presidents, particularly Biden, and that "China got out of control."

"We're going to be able to substantially lower taxes when this is finished," the president said.

"We're not going to be a laughing stock that got taken advantage of by virtually every country in the world," Trump said on tariff negotiations, promising that the country will now be "making money, a lot of money."

In a statement Wednesday, China continued to criticize President Donald Trump's tariffs while emphasizing that threats and coercion "will not work."

"If the U.S. truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop making threats and resorting to coercion, and engage with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit," Chinese FM spokesman Guo Jiakun said. "Saying they want to reach an agreement with China while continuing to apply maximum pressure is not the right way to deal with China, and it will not work."

"The United States' abuse of tariffs is a blatant violation of World Trade Organization rules and harms the legitimate rights and interests of all countries," Jiakun's statement added, calling America's tariffs a "typical act of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying."

– ABC News' Will Gretsky

President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon said he has "no intention" of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, but he reiterated he wants the central bank to lower interest rates.

"The press runs away with things. No, I have no intention of firing him," Trump said as he took reporter questions in the Oval Office. "I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates. ... If he doesn't, is it the end? No, it's not. But it would be good timing."

The comments come after Trump posted on social media last week that Powell's "termination cannot come fast enough!" Since then, he's repeatedly criticized Powell as "slow" to act. The comments caused some market turmoil. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump's attacks of Powell, saying earlier Tuesday he had the "right" to express his displeasure with the Fed chief.