🔗 Share this article

Donald Trump’s most recent ultimatum to impose an additional complete levy on products from China has been labeled a “typical example” of US double standards, according to the China’s leadership.

A representative of the ministry further commented that Beijing could implement its own undisclosed “countermeasures” if the American leader carries out his threat, adding that the country was “unafraid” of a potential commercial battle.

On Friday, Trump responded at Beijing’s move to reinforce its regulations for overseas sales of rare earths, accusing China of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the international market “captive”.

He also threatened to cancel a planned summit with China’s President Xi Jinping, which was arranged for a meeting in Seoul before the month ends.

His statements on that day unsettled stock exchanges, with the benchmark US stock index falling by over two and a half percent, marking its biggest drop since April.

These statements revived apprehensions of a trade war between the US and China.

In May, the two sides had consented to eliminate triple-digit tariffs on each other’s goods, which had raised the prospect of trade halting between the two nations.

This left, US tariffs on Chinese imports incurring an added import tax compared with the year’s onset, while US goods entering the country incur a 10% tariff.

China’s latest remarks – released by the Commerce Ministry in the form of official answers to journalist’s questions – reflected rhetoric from the peak of the ongoing trade dispute.

Officials denounced American limits on exports on chips and semi-conductors while supporting Beijing’s restrictions on exports on rare earth minerals as “routine measures” to ensure domestic safety and that of the global community.

The spokesperson remarked that for “an extended period”, the America had “broadened the definition” of national security, misused overseas sale restrictions and “adopted biased policies against China.

“Resorting to trade levy ultimatums is not the proper method to deal with Beijing,” their representative commented.

“China’s position on a tariff war has remained consistent: we do not want one, but we are unafraid of one.”

Last week, the Chinese government declared it was tightening foreign shipment restrictions on key elements and other materials essential to advanced tech manufacturing.

The action was viewed as a key move, as the state refines about ninety percent of the world’s rare earths, which are used in items such as photovoltaic modules and mobile phones.

New remarks from the US and China are being seen by observers as a strategy of enhancing bargaining power prior to future trade talks.

It is unclear whether a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, scheduled at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea before month’s end, will go ahead.