BEIJING/WASHINGTON: Tensions between the two biggest economies in the world have gotten much worse after the US put new restrictions in place and President Donald Trump threatened to impose huge tariffs. China has strongly rejected these actions and promised to take the necessary steps to protect its interests.
The most recent conflict was caused by China’s recent declaration of new export limits on rare earth minerals, which are important for the defense and high-tech industries. In retaliation, US President Donald Trump threatened to put a huge 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods coming into the US. This made people worry right away that a full-blown trade war would start.
China Wants the U.S. to “Correct Its Approach”
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made Beijing’s viewpoint clear in a post on X (previously Twitter). Lin said, “China firmly rejects the recent U.S. restrictions and sanctions on China and will do what it takes to protect its legitimate rights and interests.”
He said, “Threatening high tariffs is not the right way to deal with China.” He told Washington to “correct its approach and act on the common understandings the two presidents reached in their phone calls.”
The spokesperson went on to say that China has always said that the two countries “can and should address each other’s concerns through dialogue and manage differences on the basis of equality, respect, and mutual benefit to keep bilateral ties on a steady, sound, and sustainable track.”
A representative for China’s Ministry of Commerce made a further statement that backed this up, saying, “If the US continues to act unilaterally, China will firmly take the necessary steps to protect its legitimate rights and interests.” The spokesperson for the ministry said, “Our stance on a tariff war hasn’t changed: we don’t want one, but we’re not afraid of one.”
Trump Wants to Calm Down the Rhetoric in the Face of a Threat
After the harsh trade threat, US President Donald Trump sent a far gentler personal message to his Chinese counterpart.
President Trump seemed to calm the tension around the escalation in a post on his social media site, Truth Social. He said, “Don’t worry about China; everything will be fine!” President Xi is quite well-liked, but he just had a rough day. He doesn’t want his country to be depressed, and I don’t either. The U.S. wants to aid China, not destroy it!!! President DJT.”
The White House also wrote on X, saying, “It is impossible to believe that China would have done this, but they did, and the rest is history.” Thanks for taking the time to read this!
Markets Around the World Are Shaken; Summit Is Uncertain
The quick back-and-forth between the two biggest economies in the world has already shaken up global markets, prompting equities to fall and bringing back fears of a repetition of the tit-for-tat tariff war that happened earlier this year. Reports say that during the last conflict, tariffs on goods coming from China and the US went up to about 145 percent and 120 percent, respectively.
The growing tensions have also made it less likely that President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in South Korea in two weeks, as scheduled. President Trump has publicly said that he is not sure if the meeting will still happen because of the rare earths issue.