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Trump’s latest ultimatum to impose an further 100% tariff on items imported from China has been called a “prime illustration” of American hypocrisy, as stated by the China’s leadership.

A representative of the ministry additionally remarked that the nation could introduce its own unspecified “responsive actions” if the White House occupant executes his pledge, noting that the country was “not afraid” of a potential trade war.

This past Friday, Donald Trump responded at the Chinese government’s action to strengthen its policies for foreign shipments of rare earth minerals, accusing Beijing of “becoming very hostile” and attempting to hold the international market “captive”.

Furthermore, he threatened to withdraw from a scheduled summit with Beijing’s head of state President Xi, which was expected to take place during a conference in South Korea in the coming weeks.

The former president’s remarks on Friday rattled global markets, with the S&P 500 share index closing down 2.7%, marking its largest decline since April.

His comments reignited concerns of a trade war between the US and China.

Earlier this year, the two sides had reached an agreement to remove triple-digit tariffs on each other’s imports, which had raised the prospect of trade halting between the economic powers.

As a result, United States levies on Chinese goods facing an added thirty percent tariff compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering the country face a ten percent duty.

Beijing’s recent statements – published by the Commerce Ministry in the form of written responses to press queries – reflected terminology from the peak of the ongoing trade dispute.

Officials denounced United States controls on chips and semi-conductors while defending China’s own export controls on key elements as “standard procedures” to safeguard state interests and that of every country.

Their representative remarked that for “many years”, the America had “expanded the interpretation” of domestic safety, exploited overseas sale restrictions and “enforced” unfair treatments against the Chinese nation.

“Turning to” trade levy ultimatums is not the right way to deal with China,” the official commented.

“China’s position on a import duty dispute has consistently been unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are unafraid of one.”

The previous week, Beijing revealed it was tightening overseas sale regulations on key elements and additional substances vital for cutting-edge industry.

The action was viewed as a key move, as the nation handles about ninety percent of the global rare earth supply, which are employed in items such as photovoltaic modules and smartphones.

New remarks from Washington and Beijing are being interpreted by observers as a method of enhancing bargaining power ahead of forthcoming discussions.

It is unclear whether a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, planned at a high-level meeting in Seoul later this month, will still proceed.