China's Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized the United States for its approach to trade talks, saying Washington must stop "threats and coercion" if it wants a deal with Beijing, Reuters reports.
The statement came in response to comments by President Donald Trump about a possible reduction in tariffs on Chinese goods. Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun stressed that the "exceptional pressure" by the US is not productive and "is not the right way to deal with China".
Trade relations between the world's two largest economies remain at an impasse, with Beijing and Washington unable to agree on who should take the first step towards resuming negotiations.
In recent months, the US has significantly raised tariffs on Chinese imports, with the White House threatening a further increase of up to 245%. In response, China's Ministry of Commerce described the actions as "irrational" and said Beijing would not engage in "meaningless numbers games".
"If the US continues to cause significant damage to our legitimate rights and interests, China will fight to the end," the country's official position states.
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping also touched on the topic, saying during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Beijing that tariffs and trade wars undermine the interests of all countries, damage the multilateral trading system and threaten the global economic order.
Xi expressed readiness for in-depth international cooperation and stressed that China will continue to uphold a world order based on international rules.