China has sharply criticized the United States after President Donald Trump announced an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, accusing Washington of displaying blatant “double standards” in its trade policies.
“The relevant U.S. statement is a typical example of ‘double standards’,” said a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce in an online statement released Sunday.
Trump’s decision, announced Friday, will see the extra levies take effect on November 1. The move is part of Washington’s retaliation against what Trump described as Beijing’s “extraordinarily aggressive” export restrictions on rare-earth minerals — critical elements used in a range of U.S. technologies. He also threatened to cancel his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month.
Beijing responded by accusing the U.S. of escalating economic pressure since September, damaging the atmosphere for bilateral negotiations.
“These actions have severely harmed China’s interests and seriously undermined the atmosphere of the economic and trade talks between the two sides,” the commerce ministry said. “Threatening high tariffs at every turn is not the right approach to engaging with China.”
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies, with both sides imposing successive rounds of tariffs in a growing trade confrontation that has rattled global markets.