China’s commerce ministry on Sunday accused Washington of “typical double standards” after US President Donald Trump said he would impose a 100 percent tariff on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1 in retaliation for Beijing’s tightened export curbs on rare earth materials.
A ministry spokesperson said Beijing’s Oct. 9 decision to include rare earths and related items under export control was a lawful and routine move to improve its regulatory framework. “As a responsible major country, China has always implemented export controls prudently and appropriately, following the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and non-discrimination,” the spokesperson said.
The ministry criticized Washington for “overstretching the concept of national security” and abusing export control measures against China, saying the U.S. has imposed unilateral restrictions on more than 3,000 products, compared with about 900 items on China’s own control list. It said the U.S. has long applied a “de minimis” rule with thresholds as low as zero percent, a practice that “seriously harms companies’ legitimate rights and disrupts global supply chain stability.”
The comments come amid heightened trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Since mid-September, following the China-US trade consultations in Madrid, Washington has added a series of restrictions targeting Chinese entities in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors, and expanded its export control list to include more mainland firms.
Beijing warned that such moves “seriously undermine the atmosphere for economic and trade talks” and urged Washington to “correct its mistakes” in line with the consensus reached by the two leaders. “China does not want a tariff war, but it is not afraid of one,” the ministry said, adding that it would take “resolute countermeasures” if the U.S. proceeds with the tariff hikes.
Earlier, Trump said his administration was also considering export restrictions on all critical software to China.
China said it remains willing to enhance dialogue on export controls “with all countries” to help safeguard global industrial and supply chain security.
