China's Ministry of Commerce announced today that it will not give in to the United States' threat to impose new, higher tariffs and called on Washington to resolve trade issues with Beijing through dialogue.
"China's position is consistent: We do not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of it either," the ministry said.
It is Beijing's first official comment on US President Donald Trump's threat to raise taxes on imports from China in response to new Chinese restrictions on rare earth exports.
US Vice President JD Vance said today that Washington remains "committed to protecting America's economic livelihood" and that the fact that China has "so much control over a key US supply chain" is "the definition of a national emergency" and therefore justifies the new tariffs.
"It will be a delicate game and a lot will depend on how the Chinese respond. If they respond in a very aggressive way, I guarantee you that the US president has many more solutions than China," Vance told American television Fox News today.
He added that if the Chinese side is "willing to be reasonable, Donald Trump is always willing to be a reasonable negotiator."
"Frequently resorting to threats of high tariffs is not the right way to negotiate with China," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, calling for all concerns to be resolved through dialogue.
The statement added that if "the US side stubbornly insists on its practice, China will certainly resolutely take appropriate measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."
Beijing and Washington are exchanging accusations of violating the spirit of the trade truce by imposing new restrictions.
Trump recently posted on social media that China is becoming "very hostile" and "holding the world captive" by restricting access to rare earth minerals.
In a statement, China's Ministry of Commerce said the US had imposed several new restrictions in recent weeks, including expanding the number of Chinese companies that are restricted from importing from the US.
Regarding the export of rare minerals, the ministry announced that export permits will be issued for civilian use.
The new regulations include a requirement that foreign companies obtain approval from the Chinese government to export products containing rare earth minerals from China, regardless of where they are produced.
China mines about 70 percent of rare earth minerals and controls about 90 percent of their processing in the world, and access to these raw materials is a key point of contention in trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.
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