🔗 Share this article

The former US president’s most recent warning to impose an additional full import duty on products from China has been described as a “prime illustration” of American hypocrisy, per the China’s leadership.

A representative of the ministry also stated that the nation could enact its own undisclosed “retaliatory steps” if the US President follows through on his warning, noting that the country was “unafraid” of a possible trade war.

This past Friday, Trump hit back at Beijing’s move to strengthen its regulations for exports of critical elements, accusing Beijing of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the international market “under its control”.

He also vowed to pull out of a arranged summit with China’s President Xi Jinping, which was set for a conference in Seoul in the coming weeks.

The former president’s remarks on Friday unsettled global markets, with the S&P 500 falling by nearly three percent, marking its largest decline since April.

The president’s words renewed fears of a commercial dispute between the two economic giants.

Earlier this year, the two sides had consented to remove significant levies on each other’s imports, which had created the possibility of bilateral trade stopping between the two nations.

Consequently, American import duties on products from China subject to an additional thirty percent tariff compared with the year’s onset, while American products entering China are subject to a import levy.

Beijing’s recent statements – issued by the Ministry of Commerce in the format of formal replies to press queries – echoed rhetoric from the zenith of the latest commercial tensions.

Officials denounced American limits on exports on chips and semi-conductors while defending China’s own export controls on rare earth minerals as “standard procedures” to safeguard domestic safety and that of the global community.

Their representative stated that for “an extended period”, the United States had “expanded the interpretation” of domestic safety, exploited export control measures and “implemented” discriminatory practices against the Chinese nation.

“Resorting to import duty warnings is not the proper method to deal with the Chinese government,” the official commented.

“China’s position on a trade conflict has consistently been steady: we wish to avoid one, but we are not afraid of one.”

The previous week, Beijing announced it was tightening overseas sale regulations on rare earths and further resources essential to cutting-edge industry.

This was seen as a significant step, as the state refines about the vast majority of the world’s rare earths, which are employed in goods such as renewable energy components and mobile phones.

Latest statements from both governments are being seen by some as a method of bolstering negotiating stances ahead of forthcoming discussions.

Is not yet known whether a summit between Trump and President Xi, expected at a high-level meeting in Seoul later this month, will still proceed.