China on Saturday slammed the “extreme selfishness” behind tariffs, indirectly referring to the steep duties imposed by US President Donald Trump, describing it as an “unjustified trade war.”
According to the Chinese foreign ministry’s statement, top diplomat Wang Yi told his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov on Friday that, “Certain countries” resort to “pressure and coercion, and trigger unjustified trade wars.”
“This extreme selfishness only harms their credibility,” he added.
Earlier in the day, China reiterated that no trade discussions had occurred with the United States, contradicting President Donald Trump’s statement about receiving a call from Xi Jinping.
In a Time magazine interview published on Friday, Trump was vague about the timing and content of the alleged conversation with the Chinese leader, stating, “He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf.”
China’s commerce ministry had previously denied on Thursday any ongoing economic or trade negotiations between Beijing and Washington.
Via WeChat on Saturday, Beijing’s US embassy reaffirmed this position, stating “there have been no consultations or negotiations between China and the United States on tariff issues, let alone any agreement”.
The statement did not name Trump or Xi directly or mention Trump’s claim of a phone call, but said US comments about ongoing tariff talks were “nothing but misleading.”
“This trade war was initiated by the US side,” the statement said, further adding that, “If the US truly wants to resolve the issue through dialogue, it must first correct its mistakes, stop threatening and pressuring others, and completely remove all unilateral tariff measures against China.”
The dispute between the world’s largest economies continues to intensify, with Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods reaching 145 percent on numerous items.
