China\u2019s Ministry of Commerce says appeasing the Trump administration \u2018cannot bring peace\u2019.<\/p>\n
China has warned countries seeking exemptions from United States President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs not to strike deals at its expense.<\/p>\n
Beijing\u2019s warning on Monday comes as dozens of US trade partners are scrambling to negotiate relief from Trump\u2019s trade salvoes, including steep \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs that have been paused until July.<\/p>\n
\u201cAppeasement cannot bring peace, and compromise will not earn respect,\u201d a spokesperson for China\u2019s Ministry of Commerce said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSacrificing others\u2019 interests to obtain so-called exemptions for temporary selfish gains is akin to negotiating with a tiger; it ultimately leads to failure for both parties and harms everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
While China respects countries\u2019 efforts to resolve their trade disputes with the US, they should also \u201cstand on the side of fairness and justice\u201d and \u201con the correct side of history\u201d, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is particularly important to emphasise that China firmly opposes any party achieving deals at the expense of Chinese interests,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould such a situation arise, China will not accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ministry issued the statement after Bloomberg News last week reported that the Trump administration intends to push countries seeking relief from tariffs to reduce their trade with China.<\/p>\n
US officials are discussing plans to pressure trade partners to stop importing excess goods from China and impose duties on imports from specific countries with close ties to the Asian giant, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
While Trump announced a 90-day pause on his \u201creciprocal\u201d tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, his administration has ramped up its trade war with Beijing<\/a> by hiking import taxes on Chinese exports to as high as 145 percent.<\/p>\n China, which has pledged to \u201cfight to the end\u201d if Washington continues to escalate the trade spat, has hit back by imposing duties of 125 percent on US exports<\/a>.<\/p>\n US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that more than 70 countries have reached out to express interest in negotiating trade deals.<\/p>\n