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China Warns Nations Not to Sign Trade Deals With US at Its Expense
Beijing has doubled down on a warning to other countries not to broker trade deals with the United States if they come at China's expense.
Following declarations from members of the Trump administration last week that a trade agreement had been reached after weeks of tension and multiple international sit-downs between Chinese and American officials, the Chinese Commerce Ministry released comments over the weekend that seem to indicate the truce may be a tenuous one.
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On Saturday, a Ministry spokesperson said China stands in firm opposition to any trade agreements made with the U.S. that could threaten its interests in exchange for relief from sweeping duties.
'If such a situation arises, China will not accept it and will take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,' the spokesperson said in response to a media inquiry about the state of America's trade talks with other nations as the 90-day pause on President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs winds down.
'Since April, the United States has been pushing so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' on its trade partners. This is a typical act of unilateral bullying that seriously undermines the multilateral trading system and disrupts the normal international trade order,' they said, according to state-sponsored media outlet Xinhua.
China urged countries across the globe to aim to resolve their trade issues with the U.S. with an eye toward fairness and justice, while upholding and defending established international trade rules.
'It is proven that only by firmly defending its principle and position can a country truly protect its legitimate rights,' the Ministry spokesperson said.
These comments come just days after Trump acolytes touted their success in convincing China to lower trade barriers surrounding the export of rare earth minerals, like magnets, that the U.S. aims to purchase for use in several critical technologies.
In early June, Trump squashed a previous agreement brokered in Geneva in May, saying that China refused to cooperate after the fact. U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer accused China of violating the terms of the trade truce by restricting the export of the minerals and placing U.S. companies on blacklists.
The White House has released very little other information about the contents of the China agreement, including whether tariff rates have been changed, though China said in a statement on the matter on Friday that it plans to 'review and approve the export applications of controlled items that meet the conditions in accordance with the law.' It also said it expects the U.S. to 'cancel a series of restrictive measures taken against China accordingly.'
With the July 9 tariff deadline looming, some administration officials, like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have hinted that the president might be willing to move the goal posts to give trade partners more time to come to the table with terms for new deals.
Last week, he said he could see a scenario where all deals are wrapped up by Labor Day—a significant extension of the administration's previously stated timeline. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that about 10 deals could be finalized imminently.
However, Bessent changed his tune on Monday, saying that while some countries are negotiating in good faith, others 'should be aware that if we can't get across the line…we could spring back to the April 2 levels,' referring to the double-digit duty rates set by the president on Liberation Day.
Trump also pushed back on hints that the tariff pause could be extended on Sunday, appearing on Fox News to say that letters to trading partners would be sent out 'pretty soon,' informing them of the decided upon tariff rates. 'We'll look at how a country treats us; are they good, are they not so good? Some countries we don't care, we'll just send a high number out,' he said.
