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Donald Trump’s newest threat to enforce an additional full import duty on items imported from China has been described as a “classic case” of United States’ contradictory behavior, according to the Chinese government.

A representative of the ministry additionally remarked that China could enact its own unrevealed “countermeasures” if the US President follows through on his threat, emphasizing that the country was “unafraid” of a possible trade war.

This past Friday, Donald Trump retaliated at China’s decision to strengthen its policies for foreign shipments of rare earths, alleging Beijing of “turning aggressive” and attempting to hold the world “hostage”.

He also vowed to pull out of a arranged summit with China’s President President Xi, which was arranged for a summit in the Republic of Korea later this month.

The former president’s remarks on that day rattled stock exchanges, with the S&P 500 share index falling by over two and a half percent, marking its steepest fall since earlier this year.

The president’s words reignited apprehensions of a commercial dispute between the United States and China.

In May, the two sides had consented to remove triple-digit tariffs on each other’s products, which had led to concerns of commerce ceasing between the two nations.

As a result, American import duties on products from China incurring an extra thirty percent tariff compared with the start of the year, while American products entering the Chinese market incur a 10% tariff.

Beijing’s recent statements – issued by the Commerce Ministry in the form of official answers to media inquiries – mirrored terminology from the height of the latest commercial tensions.

The remarks condemned United States controls on electronic components while defending Beijing’s overseas sale regulations on rare earth minerals as “routine measures” to ensure state interests and that of the global community.

The spokesperson stated that for “a long time”, the US had “overstretched the concept of national security, abused export control measures and “adopted unfair treatments against the Chinese nation.

“Resorting to tariff threats is not the correct approach to interact with the Chinese government,” their representative stated.

“Beijing’s stance” on a import duty dispute has remained unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are unafraid of one.”

The previous week, China declared it was strengthening export controls on rare earth minerals and other materials vital for advanced tech manufacturing.

This move was regarded as a significant step, as the nation handles about ninety percent of the global rare earth supply, which are employed in items such as renewable energy components and handheld devices.

New remarks from both governments are being viewed by observers as a means of strengthening positions in preparation for upcoming negotiations.

It is unclear whether a summit between Trump and President Xi, scheduled at a conference in South Korea before month’s end, will still proceed.