China today warned the United States that it is willing to “fight to the end” if Washington insists on imposing new tariffs and trade restrictions, although it reiterated its openness to dialogue.
“If you want to fight, we will fight to the end; if you want to talk, the door is open,” declared the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, in a statement, in response to the White House’s announcement of the application of 100% additional tariffs on Chinese products and other restrictive measures.
Beijing defended that the recent limitations imposed on the export of rare earths and associated products are “legitimate actions” under national legislation and stressed that they are not a total ban, as applications that meet the requirements “will continue to be approved as before”.
According to the ministry, China previously notified the United States about these measures through the bilateral export control dialogue mechanism.
Chinese authorities accuse Washington of “abusing the concept of national security” and of having introduced “a series of discriminatory restrictions” since the last round of trade negotiations, held in September in Madrid.
The spokesperson urged the United States to “correct its mistakes”, demonstrate “genuine sincerity” and work “in the same direction” as China to return to the path of economic dialogue.
Even so, Beijing recalled that “both countries share broad common interests and a large space for cooperation” and that the confrontation “harms both parties”.
The statement indicates that the two countries maintain contacts within the scope of the economic and trade consultation mechanism and that they even held a “technical meeting” on Monday.
However, he criticized the fact that the US is trying to dialogue “while threatening new sanctions”, considering that “it is not the appropriate way to deal with China”.
The exchange of statements comes at a time of renewed trade tensions, after China announced, last week, new restrictions on the export of rare earths and Washington responded with the threat of doubling tariffs on Chinese products.
On Friday, North American President Donald Trump declared that he no longer sees any reason to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the APEC summit scheduled for the end of the month in South Korea, although both countries guarantee that diplomatic contact “remains open”.