🔗 Share this article

The former US president’s newest threat to impose an extra full import duty on items imported from China has been labeled a “typical example” of US double standards, per the Chinese government.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson additionally remarked that Beijing could enact its own unspecified “retaliatory steps” if the White House occupant carries out his warning, noting that the country was “unafraid” of a potential trade war.

On Friday, the former president retaliated at Beijing’s move to reinforce its regulations for exports of critical elements, charging the Chinese leadership of “turning aggressive” and attempting to hold the international market “captive”.

Additionally, he threatened to cancel a scheduled summit with Beijing’s head of state President Xi, which was arranged for a conference in Seoul later this month.

The former president’s remarks on that day unsettled global markets, with the benchmark US stock index dropping over two and a half percent, marking its largest decline since April.

The president’s words revived fears of a trade war between the US and China.

In May, the respective governments had reached an agreement to eliminate significant levies on each other’s products, which had created the possibility of bilateral trade stopping between the two nations.

As a result, US tariffs on Chinese imports incurring an added 30% levy compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering the Chinese market are subject to a import levy.

Beijing’s recent statements – released by the relevant government department in the manner of formal replies to journalist’s questions – echoed language from the peak of the recent trade conflict.

The remarks condemned American limits on exports on chips and semi-conductors while supporting Beijing’s restrictions on exports on rare earth minerals as “normal actions” to safeguard domestic safety and that of the global community.

The spokesperson said that for “an extended period”, the America had “overstretched the concept of state security, abused export control measures and “enforced” biased policies against the Chinese nation.

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

“China’s position on a trade conflict has always been unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are fearless of one.”

The previous week, the Chinese government announced it was tightening export controls on rare earth minerals and additional substances vital for high-technology production.

The action was viewed as a significant step, as the state refines about ninety percent of the global rare earth supply, which are employed in products such as renewable energy components and mobile phones.

New remarks from the US and China are being seen by observers as a means of strengthening positions ahead of upcoming negotiations.

It is unclear whether a meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping, expected at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea in the coming weeks, will still proceed.