Beijing blames US for raising trade tensions
China has called President Donald Trump’s recent US tariffs on Chinese goods hypocritical and defended restrictions on rare earth exports, but has refrained from imposing new duties on US products.
The commerce ministry said on Sunday that export controls on rare earth elements, which Trump called “surprising” and “very hostile” on Friday, follow a series of measures taken by the United States since bilateral trade talks in Madrid last month.
Beijing cited the addition of Chinese companies to a US trade blacklist and Washington’s imposition of port fees on Chinese ships as examples.
“These actions have seriously harmed China’s interests and undermined the atmosphere for bilateral economic and trade talks. China firmly opposes them,” the ministry said.
Beijing stopped short of explicitly linking these U.S. actions to restrictions on exports of critical minerals, saying the restrictions stemmed from concerns about the military applications of these metals at a time of “frequent military conflicts.”
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