🔗 Share this article

Trump’s most recent warning to impose an extra 100% tariff on items imported from China has been described as a “typical example” of US double standards, according to the China’s leadership.

A official from China’s Commerce Ministry further commented that China could introduce its own unspecified “countermeasures” if the American leader executes his pledge, adding that the country was “unafraid” of a looming trade war.

Last Friday, the former president hit back at Beijing’s move to reinforce its policies for exports of rare earths, charging the Chinese leadership of “becoming very hostile” and attempting to hold the international market “hostage”.

He also warned to pull out of a arranged talks with Chinese leader Xi, which was set for a summit in Seoul later this month.

His statements on last Friday unsettled stock exchanges, with the benchmark US stock index dropping over two and a half percent, marking its largest decline since April.

His comments reignited apprehensions of a trade conflict between the United States and China.

In May, the respective governments had consented to remove significant levies on each other’s products, which had created the possibility of trade halting between the two countries.

This left, American import duties on Chinese goods incurring an added thirty percent tariff compared with the beginning of 2025, while items from the United States entering the Chinese market incur a import levy.

China’s latest remarks – issued by the Commerce Ministry in the format of formal replies to media inquiries – mirrored language from the peak of the recent trade conflict.

The remarks condemned American limits on exports on electronic components while defending China’s own export controls on rare earths as “normal actions” to protect national security and that of the global community.

The spokesperson stated that for “many years”, the United States had “overstretched the concept of domestic safety, misused overseas sale restrictions and “enforced” discriminatory practices against the Chinese nation.

“Turning to” tariff threats is not the correct approach to engage with China,” the official said.

“China’s position on a tariff war has always been unchanging: we are not seeking one, but we are not afraid of one.”

The previous week, the Chinese government declared it was tightening foreign shipment restrictions on rare earths and other materials essential to high-technology production.

This move was regarded as a important measure, as the state refines about 90% of the global rare earth supply, which are employed in items such as photovoltaic modules and handheld devices.

The recent comments from Washington and Beijing are being viewed by observers as a strategy of enhancing bargaining power ahead of forthcoming discussions.

It is unclear whether a summit between the former president and Xi Jinping, scheduled at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea later this month, will still proceed.