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Trump’s latest warning to impose an additional complete levy on Chinese goods has been called a “prime illustration” of United States’ contradictory behavior, as stated by the Chinese government.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson also stated that the nation could implement its own unrevealed “countermeasures” if the White House occupant executes his threat, noting that the country was “unafraid” of a possible trade war.

This past Friday, Donald Trump retaliated at China’s decision to reinforce its rules for foreign shipments of rare earths, alleging China of “becoming very hostile” and attempting to hold the global community “captive”.

He also threatened to pull out of a planned talks with Beijing’s head of state Xi Jinping, which was expected to take place during a summit in Seoul later this month.

The former president’s remarks on last Friday unsettled financial markets, with the S&P 500 share index closing down over two and a half percent, marking its biggest drop since April.

The president’s words revived fears of a trade war between the two economic giants.

Earlier this year, the two sides had reached an agreement to remove significant levies on each other’s imports, which had led to concerns of bilateral trade stopping between the two nations.

This left, US tariffs on products from China incurring an extra 30% levy compared with the year’s onset, while US goods entering China face a import levy.

Beijing’s recent statements – issued by the relevant government department in the manner of written responses to media inquiries – reflected language from the peak of the latest commercial tensions.

They criticised American limits on exports on electronic components while defending China’s own export controls on rare earths as “routine measures” to safeguard domestic safety and that of every country.

The official said that for “a long time”, the US had “overstretched the concept of state security, exploited foreign shipment regulations and “implemented” discriminatory practices against the Chinese nation.

“Turning to” import duty warnings is not the right way to interact with Beijing,” the spokesperson said.

“Beijing’s stance” on a tariff war has always been unchanging: we do not want one, but we are fearless of one.”

The previous week, the Chinese government declared it was tightening export controls on key elements and further resources critical for advanced tech manufacturing.

This move was regarded as a significant step, as the country refines about ninety percent of the global rare earth supply, which are used in items such as photovoltaic modules and smartphones.

The recent comments from both governments are being interpreted by some as a method of enhancing bargaining power in preparation for forthcoming discussions.

Remains uncertain whether a talks between Trump and President Xi, scheduled at a conference in the Republic of Korea later this month, will still proceed.