China cautions nations against doing business with the United States

Beijing: China warned Monday that it firmly opposes any trade agreements with the United States at the expense of Beijing’s interests in the ongoing trade war, according to state media. It also said that it will impose countermeasures in a “resolute and reciprocal manner” against nations that aim to “appease” Washington.

According to the Xinhua news agency, an official spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that the United States has been arbitrarily imposing tariffs on all of its trading partners under the pretext of “reciprocity,” while also pressuring them to participate in “reciprocal tariff” negotiations.

The spokeswoman was reacting to rumors that the US is getting ready to put pressure on other nations to limit their commerce with China in return for tariff exemptions.

According to the Chinese media source, the representative said, “This is basically using the banner of of’reciprocity’ as a pretext to pursue hegemonic politics and unilateral bullying in the field of international economy and trade.”

The Donald Trump administration has placed tariffs of up to 145% on certain Chinese goods while imposing 10% tariffs on other nations. Beijing has responded by imposing 125% taxes on US imports.

As reported in the Global Times, the Chinese spokesperson claimed that pursuing short-term, self-serving interests by harming others’ interests in exchange for so-called “exemptions” is like striking a deal with the tiger for its skin because it will ultimately leave all parties empty-handed and cause harm to others without benefiting oneself.

China issued a warning that global trade should not return to the “law of the jungle” and stated that it is prepared to work with all parties to improve coordination and solidarity, deal with them together, fight unilateral bullying, protect its legitimate rights and interests, and uphold international justice.