China warns countries against trade deals with US that harm Beijing's interests

Beijing, April 21: Amid the ongoing trade war, China on Monday has warned that it firmly opposes any trade deals with the United States at the expense of Beijing's intests, state media reported, adding that it will slap countermeasures in "resolute and reciprocal manner" against coutries which strive to "appease" Washington.

Under the guise of so-called "reciprocity," the United States has been recently arbitrarily imposing tariffs on all its trading partners while pressuring them to engage in so-called "reciprocal tariff" negotiations, an official spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said, according to Xinhua news agency.

The spokesperson was responding to reports that the United States is preparing to pressure other countries to restrict trade ties with China in exchange for tariff exemptions.

"This is essentially using the banner of 'reciprocity' as a pretext to pursue hegemonic politics and unilateral bullying in the field of international economy and trade," the spokesperson said as per the Chinese media outlet.

While the Donald Trump administration has imposed 10 per cent tariff on various countries, it has put duties of upto 145 per cent on many products from China. Beijing has retaliated by slapping duties of 125 per cent on US goods.

The Chinese spokesperson said that pursuing short-term, self-serving interests by harming others' interests in exchange for so-called "exemptions" is akin to making a pact with the tiger for its skin - it will ultimately leave all parties empty-handed, harming others without benefiting oneself, the spokesperson said as cited in the Global Times.

China warned against international trade returning to the "law of the jungle" and said that it is willing to strengthen solidarity and coordination with all parties, join hands to deal with them, jointly resist unilateral bullying, safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, and defend international justice.