The Chinese government said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose 100% additional tariffs on Chinese products was “a classic example of American double standards.”
A Commerce Department spokesperson also said China could take unspecified “countermeasures” if the U.S. president makes threats, adding that it is “not afraid” of a possible trade war.
On Friday, President Trump criticized China’s moves to tighten restrictions on rare earth exports, saying the country is becoming “very hostile” and trying to hold the world “captive.” He also threatened to cancel a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
But President Trump wrote last Sunday: “Don’t worry about China. Everything will be okay!”
“The highly respected President Xi Jinping has just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want his country to go into a depression and neither do I. America wants to help China, not hurt it!!!” Trump said this in a post on social media, without further explanation.
Trump’s comments on Friday shook financial markets, sending the S&P 500 stock index down 2.7%, its steepest decline since April.
On Monday, mainland China’s Shenzhen component index fell more than 2.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell about 3.5%.
The president’s comments have reignited fears of a trade war between the United States and China.
Last May, the two sides agreed to cut tariffs by triple digits on each other’s goods. This raises the possibility that trade between the two countries will be disrupted.
As a result, the United States has imposed an additional 30% tariff on Chinese products compared to the beginning of the year, and a 10% tariff on American products entering China.
China’s response to journalists’ questions, issued in written form by the Commerce Department, mirrored language expressed at the height of the recent trade conflict.
They criticized US limits on chip and semiconductor exports and China’s rare earth export controls, defending them as “normal measures” to protect national security and the security of all nations.
The spokesperson said that “for a long time” the United States had “overextended the concept of national security, abused export control measures” and “adopted discriminatory practices against China.”
“Resorting to the threat of tariffs is not the right way to work with China,” the spokesperson said.
“China’s position on the tariff war has always been consistent. We do not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of it either.”
Last week, China announced it was tightening export controls on rare earths and other materials essential to high-tech manufacturing.
This was seen as an important move because China processes about 90% of the world’s rare earths used in products such as solar panels and smartphones.
Some see the recent comments from the United States and China as a means to strengthen their positions ahead of future trade talks.
It is unclear whether the meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping, expected to be held in South Korea at the end of this month, will continue.
