Chicago – June 02, 2025
China has accused the United States of “provoking new economic and trade frictions” as it responded to US President Donald Trump’s claims that Beijing had violated a trade truce agreed by the two nations last month, which paused their blistering tariff war.
China was “strictly implementing” the consensus of those trade talks, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement Monday, while blaming the US for taking steps that “seriously undermine” the agreement.
“The United States has been unilaterally provoking new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating the uncertainty and instability of bilateral economic and trade relations,” the statement said.
“If the United States insists on its own way and continues to undermine China’s interests, China will continue to take resolute and forceful measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” it added.
The back and forth spotlights a ratcheting up of tensions between the US and China just weeks after the two sides reached the surprise trade truce in Geneva, which significantly dialed down the hefty tariffs that each imposed on the other in April.
That agreement gave the two sides a 90-day window to hash out a broader deal, an effort that now appears imperiled as each side accuses the other of working against the spirit of that agreement. US officials have described talks as “stalled” and suggested that the involvement of Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is needed to jumpstart progress.
