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The former US president’s newest ultimatum to introduce an extra complete levy on products from China has been called a “typical example” of United States’ contradictory behavior, per the China’s leadership.

A representative of the ministry also stated that the nation could introduce its own unrevealed “countermeasures” if the White House occupant carries out his warning, adding that the country was “fearless” of a potential trade war.

This past Friday, the former president responded at Beijing’s move to tighten its rules for foreign shipments of critical elements, alleging Beijing of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the global community “captive”.

He also warned to pull out of a arranged summit with Beijing’s head of state Xi, which was arranged for a conference in the Republic of Korea later this month.

His statements on that day shook global markets, with the S&P 500 falling by 2.7%, marking its biggest drop since April.

The president’s words renewed concerns of a trade war between the United States and China.

In May, the two sides had agreed to eliminate triple-digit tariffs on each other’s imports, which had led to concerns of bilateral trade stopping between the economic powers.

As a result, American import duties on products from China incurring an additional 30% levy compared with the beginning of 2025, while items from the United States entering the Chinese market are subject to a 10% tariff.

China’s latest remarks – issued by the relevant government department in the format of written responses to media inquiries – reflected rhetoric from the height of the latest commercial tensions.

The remarks condemned American limits on exports on chips and semi-conductors while justifying the country’s own overseas sale regulations on rare earths as “routine measures” to protect domestic safety and that of all nations.

Their representative stated that for “many years”, the US had “expanded the interpretation” of national security, misused overseas sale restrictions and “enforced” unfair treatments against Beijing.

“Resorting to tariff threats is not the right way to engage with China,” their representative commented.

“The nation’s view” on a import duty dispute has always been steady: we wish to avoid one, but we are fearless of one.”

The previous week, China revealed it was strengthening foreign shipment restrictions on key elements and additional substances critical for advanced tech manufacturing.

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

New remarks from Washington and Beijing are being seen by analysts as a means of enhancing bargaining power ahead of upcoming negotiations.

It is unclear whether a meeting between Trump and China’s leader, scheduled at a conference in Seoul later this month, will still proceed.