A China has threatened to retaliate if US President Donald Trump carries out his threat of a new 100% tariff on Chinese products. Trump has expressed concerns about restrictions on the export of rare earth materials, but on Sunday he was open to negotiations.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated, on the same day and before the US president took a position, that “deliberate threats of high tariffs are not the right way to engage with China” and reiterated that the country is not afraid of the trade war, but does not want it. THE China announced that it will take “resolute measures” to protect its rights if the US continues to follow the “wrong path”.
Referring to export controls on rare earths, such as holmium and erbium, the spokesperson highlighted that these measures are legitimate and not export bans. It also guaranteed that all export requests for civil use will be analyzed and can be approved, ensuring that companies do not need to worry.
After the initial threat, Trump used the social network Truth Social to signal a possible reduction in tensionstating that “don’t worry about China, everything will be fine”. He also expressed his intention to help China, referring to President Xi Jinping and the difficult situation the country faces.
The Vice President of the USA, JD Vance also adopted a more conciliatory stance, calling on China to “choose the path of reason”. Vance acknowledged that the US response will depend on China’s attitude, warning that if the response is aggressive, the US has “a lot more cards up its sleeve.” He further stated that if China is willing to be reasonable, so will the United States.