US Treasury Secretary Bessent Publicly Endorses BYD, Making the World See Chinese Cars Anew

US Treasury Secretary Bessent recently stated directly in a speech at the Charlotte Economic Club that BYD is the "best car at the $70,000 value level that a consumer can buy for $35,000". This evaluation quickly went viral on networks in both China and the US.

As one of the top US economic policymakers, Bessent usually talks more about tariffs, exchange rates, and the macroeconomy, rarely making such specific evaluations on a single brand or product. More noteworthy is that he is evaluating a Chinese automotive company—at just the time when BYD's overseas market is surging continuously. As of August, BYD's overseas monthly sales were 189,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 134.6%, breaking overseas sales records for five consecutive months; cumulative overseas sales from January to August reached 1.158 million units, exceeding the total of the previous year. On one side is the rare praise from the US Treasury Secretary, and on the other is the solid leap in global sales; the convergence of these two threads constitutes the most powerful evidence of BYD moving from a Chinese brand to a global brand.

In fact, this is not the first time Bessent has turned his attention to BYD. Earlier this April, when Bessent was interviewed by US media, he mentioned that the BYD Seal model "looks pretty good" and "if it were to be sold in the US, tariffs would need to be paid". From "looks pretty good" in April to "$70,000 value for $35,000" in September, within just five months, Bessent continued to track and upgrade his evaluation of the same brand, itself conveying a clear signal: BYD's product strength has made it impossible for traditional players and policymakers in the global automotive industry to ignore.

More importantly, what Bessent said was not diplomatic pleasantries, but a price anchor based on real experience—"at the $70,000 level" refers to the niche market long occupied by traditional luxury brands, and "$35,000" is BYD's actual selling price to global consumers. This short sentence is equivalent to declaring in the most straightforward way: under equal product strength, the brand premium system maintained by traditional automakers for decades has become invalid.

The recognition BYD receives from global high-level officials extends far beyond this. US California Governor Newsom, after personally experiencing the Yangwang U8, praised it as "a breakthrough technology across generations"; the President of Uzbekistan awarded BYD the national "Medal of Friendship", recognizing its contribution to the local industry; Brazilian President Lula, Thai Prime Minister Anutin, former Chilean President Piñera and other political figures from various countries also praised BYD's technological innovation and green transformation results. From developed countries to emerging markets, from personal experience-based evaluations to national honorary awards, BYD is receiving multi-party authoritative certifications across regions and levels. This can no longer be explained by coincidence or individual cases—when a Chinese car brand continuously receives active positive reviews from political figures of different countries, the only reasonable explanation is that the product strength is sufficiently solid.

This affirmation from the official side is also transmitted to the ordinary consumer level. Bessent's evaluation continues to ferment in the US public opinion field, with a large number of netizens leaving comments to express resonance: "Bessent is BYD's best salesperson", "I just want a car like this", "Let them build a factory in the US, this will stimulate our innovation and competition". Public consensus is forming—user perception of car quality is being peeled away from brand history and circle premiums, returning to core technology, real configuration, and daily usage experience itself. BYD gains global user recognition with solid product strength and is continuously reconstructing the value evaluation standards of the global automotive industry.

Sales are the most direct realization of reputation. In Thailand, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa and other countries, BYD has topped the local new energy vehicle sales list. Yuan UP, Dolphin family, Song PLUS and other main models are becoming the "national face" of city streets globally. Behind this achievement is BYD's full-stack independent R&D in the three core fields of batteries, motors, and electronic control—the safety breakthrough of Blade Batteries, energy efficiency optimization of the DM-i Super Hybrid System, and architecture integration capability of the e-Platform 3.0, together forming an irreplaceable industrial moat.

From Bessent's continued attention, to public praise from political figures of multiple countries, to the real purchases of millions of overseas users, Chinese smart manufacturing represented by BYD is undergoing a profound role transformation: from a follower of the global automotive industry to gradually becoming a definer of value standards. When "$70,000 value for $35,000" becomes an international consensus, the moat built by traditional brand premiums is no longer unbreakable—and this, perhaps, is the industrial signal behind Bessent's comment most worthy of repeated interpretation.