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The former US president’s latest ultimatum to introduce an extra complete levy on items imported from China has been described as a “classic case” of American hypocrisy, per the Chinese government.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson also stated that China could implement its own unspecified “responsive actions” if the US President executes his pledge, emphasizing that the country was “fearless” of a potential trade war.

On Friday, Donald Trump responded at Beijing’s move to reinforce its policies for exports of critical elements, charging China of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the international market “captive”.

Furthermore, he vowed to pull out of a arranged meeting with China’s President Xi, which was arranged for a summit in the Republic of Korea in the coming weeks.

His statements on that day shook stock exchanges, with the S&P 500 share index closing down 2.7%, marking its largest decline since earlier this year.

These statements renewed fears of a trade war between the two economic giants.

In May, the respective governments had agreed to drop high import duties on each other’s imports, which had led to concerns of commerce ceasing between the two nations.

Consequently, United States levies on products from China subject to an added 30% levy compared with the beginning of 2025, while American products entering the country incur a 10% tariff.

Beijing’s recent statements – released by the Ministry of Commerce in the format of official answers to journalist’s questions – reflected terminology from the height of the recent trade conflict.

They criticised United States controls on semiconductors and chips while supporting the country’s own restrictions on exports on rare earth minerals as “standard procedures” to protect national security and that of the global community.

Their representative stated that for “a long time”, the United States had “overstretched the concept of domestic safety, exploited export control measures and “enforced” unfair treatments against China.

“Resorting to trade levy ultimatums is not the proper method to interact with the Chinese government,” their representative stated.

“The nation’s view” on a import duty dispute has always been unchanging: we do not want one, but we are unafraid of one.”

Last week, the Chinese government announced it was strengthening overseas sale regulations on key elements and further resources essential to high-technology production.

This was seen as a important measure, as the nation handles about 90% of the global rare earth supply, which are employed in products such as renewable energy components and mobile phones.

New remarks from both governments are being seen by observers as a strategy of bolstering negotiating stances ahead of future trade talks.

It is unclear whether a talks between Donald Trump and President Xi, scheduled at a summit in South Korea before month’s end, will still proceed.