China accuses Trump and the United States of escalating the trade war

Beijing has criticized Donald Trump’s plan to impose an additional 100 percent tariffs on Chinese exports and threatened new countermeasures as it blamed the United States for the rapid deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Since the two countries held trade talks in Madrid last month, the United States has “continuously introduced a series of new restrictions against China,” the Commerce Department said in a statement. China“, including placing Chinese companies on a trade blacklist.

China’s position on… Tariff wars “He was consistent: We do not want to fight, but we are not afraid to fight,” the ministry said on Sunday.

In the latest escalation in the trade war between the two countries, the US President said on Friday that he would impose “broad” export controls on “virtually every product they make” including “all important software”, along with new tariffs. The new measures will be imposed on or before November 1, according to Trump’s social media posts.

“Threatening high tariffs at every turn is not the right way to deal with China,” the Commerce Department said. “If the United States continues on its course, China will resolutely take similar measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests.”

Trump’s threat came after a series of trade measures taken by China over the past two days Export controls were expanded On rare earths and related technologies, as well as the equipment and materials needed to make batteries.

Beijing also launched Antitrust investigation At US chipmaker Qualcomm and imposed duties on US-owned ships calling at Chinese ports.

Beijing’s actions this week appear to be a strategy to exert influence ahead of an expected face-to-face meeting between Trump and Xi in South Korea. Trump on Friday questioned whether the meeting would take place but later said they likely would.

Beijing said on Sunday that the impact on supply chains would be “very limited” and insisted that companies “don’t need to worry”, saying any applications for civilian use that comply with regulations will be approved.

The Commerce Department added that the US side “abused export controls” for a long time and expanded the concept of national security.

Trump’s statement, issued on his “Truth” social media platform, raises the possibility of ending the detente in the trade war between the United States and China since a truce was reached in Geneva in May.

Before that, a virtual trade embargo between the two countries was looming after Trump imposed 145 percent tariffs on Beijing, and Xi responded with 125 percent tariffs on goods coming from the United States.

After the Madrid talks, both sides appeared to agree to avoid escalation ahead of a proposed Xi-Trump meeting in late October, said Feng Zhucheng, founding partner at Hutong Research, an independent consulting firm based in Beijing.

However, that changed after the US decision in September to tighten export controls on Chinese companies, to make it harder to circumvent rules designed to slow China’s ability to develop advanced semiconductors.

Beijing also opposed Washington’s decision to increase tariffs ChinaBuilt ships visiting American ports.

“From Xi’s perspective, these actions are not only a fundamental escalation but further confirmation of the Trump administration’s declining credibility,” Feng said.

He said Beijing was reactivating the rules of the game used after Trump’s initial tariffs in April, “escalating first to force a reset in negotiations, rather than passively waiting for the next talks.”

Wang Dong, executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University, said Trump’s “surprise” at being exposed to the new controls reflects the previous US mentality that it could impose tariffs on China with impunity.

“At the very least, there is a deep-rooted sense of arrogance and self-pride on the American side,” Wang said. He said that China is turning the tables and creating a more level playing field for “great power bargaining.”

China’s trade with the United States is dwindling and is partly being replaced by markets in the Global South and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative’s infrastructure scheme, said Wang Yiwei, an international relations researcher at Renmin University in Beijing.

He added that China’s retaliatory measures are aimed at demanding that the United States return “to stable trade relations and not play any game anymore.”

The White House, US Trade Representative and Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Yanmei Xie, a senior associate fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, said that while the United States has influence on trade, and both countries are vulnerable to export controls imposed by the other, China may have the “upper hand” when it comes to vulnerabilities in the corporate sector.

She said: “There are American companies that produce much more in China than vice versa, and some of them, like Apple and Tesla, are the crown jewel of American companies.”

Corey Coombs, associate director of Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China, said Trump’s recent escalation, including threatening to withdraw from talks with Xi, could lead to a reset by Beijing.

“Realistically, I think Beijing is rapidly adjusting its approach — and the leadership may not know exactly what the next step is,” he said.

Additional contributions from Wang Xueqiao in Shanghai