China warns countries against striking trade deals with US at its expense
News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 21st April 2025
On Monday, China charged Washington with misusing tariffs and cautioned nations about reaching a wider economic agreement with the United States to their detriment, intensifying its rhetoric in an escalating trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies.
Beijing will staunchly resist any party reaching an agreement that undermines China and “will implement countermeasures in a determined and reciprocal way,” stated its Commerce Ministry.
The ministry reacted to a Bloomberg article, referencing sources knowledgeable about the issue, stating that the Trump administration is getting ready to urge countries pursuing tariff cuts or exemptions from the U.S. to limit trade with China, which may include financial penalties.
President Donald Trump halted the extensive tariffs he declared on numerous nations on April 2, with the exception of those on China, targeting the globe’s second-largest economy for the largest duties.
In a succession of actions, Washington has increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, leading Beijing to impose retaliatory tariffs of 125% on U.S. products, effectively creating trade barriers against one another. Last week, China indicated that its overall rates would not increase any more.
“The United States has abused tariffs on all trading partners under the banner of so-called ‘equivalence’, while also forcing all parties to start so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ negotiations with them,” the ministry spokesperson said.
China is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests, and is willing to strengthen solidarity with all parties, the ministry said.
“The fact is, nobody wants to pick a side,” said Bo Zhengyuan, partner at China-based policy consultancy Plenum.
“If countries have high reliance on China in terms of investment, industrial infrastructure, technology know-how and consumption, I don’t think they’ll be buying into U.S. demands. Many Southeast Asian countries belong to this category.”
