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Donald Trump’s newest threat to impose an further complete levy on items imported from China has been described as a “prime illustration” of United States’ contradictory behavior, per the Beijing administration.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson also stated that the nation could introduce its own unspecified “countermeasures” if the White House occupant follows through on his pledge, noting that the country was “fearless” of a possible trade war.

This past Friday, Trump responded at the Chinese government’s action to reinforce its regulations for exports of critical elements, charging the Chinese leadership of “turning aggressive” and attempting to hold the global community “under its control”.

Furthermore, he threatened to cancel a arranged summit with Chinese leader Xi, which was arranged for a meeting in South Korea in the coming weeks.

His statements on last Friday shook global markets, with the S&P 500 closing down over two and a half percent, marking its largest decline since last spring.

These statements renewed concerns of a trade war between the US and China.

Earlier this year, the respective governments had agreed to drop triple-digit tariffs on each other’s products, which had created the possibility of bilateral trade stopping between the economic powers.

As a result, United States levies on products from China subject to an added 30% levy compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering the country face a 10% tariff.

Beijing’s recent statements – released by the relevant government department in the form of written responses to media inquiries – reflected language from the height of the recent trade conflict.

Officials denounced United States controls on electronic components while defending Beijing’s export controls on key elements as “normal actions” to ensure state interests and that of all nations.

The official remarked that for “a long time”, the US had “overstretched the concept of domestic safety, abused overseas sale restrictions and “adopted biased policies against the Chinese nation.

“Resorting to tariff threats is not the right way to deal with the Chinese government,” the spokesperson said.

“China’s position on a tariff war has consistently been steady: we are not seeking one, but we are not afraid of one.”

The previous week, Beijing declared it was reinforcing foreign shipment restrictions on rare earths and further resources essential to high-technology production.

The action was viewed as a key move, as the nation handles about ninety percent of the global rare earth supply, which are utilized in products such as photovoltaic modules and smartphones.

The recent comments from Washington and Beijing are being seen by analysts as a means of strengthening positions ahead of upcoming negotiations.

Remains uncertain whether a summit between Trump and Xi Jinping, scheduled at a high-level meeting in Seoul in the coming weeks, will go ahead.