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The former US president’s most recent warning to enforce an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods has been called a “prime illustration” of United States’ contradictory behavior, as stated by the China’s leadership.

A representative of the ministry also stated that Beijing could introduce its own unrevealed “countermeasures” if the US President executes his pledge, noting that the country was “not afraid” of a potential trade conflict.

This past Friday, Donald Trump hit back at the Chinese government’s action to strengthen its rules for exports of rare earths, charging Beijing of “becoming very hostile” and attempting to hold the global community “captive”.

He also threatened to cancel a scheduled summit with China’s President Xi Jinping, which was arranged for a summit in South Korea later this month.

His statements on last Friday shook global markets, with the benchmark US stock index closing down 2.7%, marking its largest decline since last spring.

These statements renewed fears of a commercial dispute between the US and China.

In May, the both nations had consented to drop high import duties on each other’s products, which had created the possibility of trade halting between the two nations.

As a result, US tariffs on Chinese goods facing an additional thirty percent tariff compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering China are subject to a ten percent duty.

The most recent comments from China – released by the Commerce Ministry in the form of official answers to journalist’s questions – echoed language from the height of the latest commercial tensions.

Officials denounced United States controls on semiconductors and chips while supporting the country’s own overseas sale regulations on rare earths as “standard procedures” to safeguard state interests and that of the global community.

The official stated that for “a long time”, the US had “expanded the interpretation” of national security, abused export control measures and “implemented” biased policies against Beijing.

“Resorting to import duty warnings is not the proper method to deal with the Chinese government,” the official commented.

“Beijing’s stance” on a tariff war has always been unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are fearless of one.”

The previous week, the Chinese government revealed it was reinforcing overseas sale regulations on rare earths and other materials critical for advanced tech manufacturing.

This was seen as a important measure, as the nation handles about the vast majority of the world’s rare earths, which are utilized in items such as photovoltaic modules and smartphones.

Latest statements from both governments are being interpreted by some as a means of bolstering negotiating stances in preparation for forthcoming discussions.

Is not yet known whether a talks between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, scheduled at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea in the coming weeks, will still proceed.