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Investing.com-- China’s Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday confirmed that working-level talks with the U.S. continued this week, but said that Beijing was ready to fight any renewed trade war with Washington.
A commerce ministry spokesperson said that China’s export controls on rare earths– which were a particular point of ire for Washington– were a “legitimate measure,” and that the country had informed the U.S. of the measure in advance.
“If there’s a fight, we’ll fight to the end; if there’s a talk, the door is open” the spokesperson said in a statement, accusing the U.S. of abusing export controls and adopting “discriminatory practices” against China.
Tuesday’s comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump last week threatened to impose 100% trade tariffs against China over the country’s tighter controls on rare earth exports.
Beijing had largely rebuffed Trump’s threat, with any increased tariffs on China threatening to upset a tenuous trade truce between the world’s largest economies.
“The US cannot demand talks while simultaneously imposing new restrictive measures with threats and intimidation,” the commerce ministry said, confirming that working-level talks with Washington took place on Monday.
Relations between the U.S. and China soured substantially this year as Trump imposed higher tariffs against the country, drawing retaliatory measures from Beijing.
While the two countries did agree to a framework trade deal in May, trade tensions have persisted. U.S. chip technology and Chinese rare earths have been two major points of contention.