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Trump’s latest warning to impose an extra complete levy on Chinese goods has been labeled a “typical example” of United States’ contradictory behavior, according to the Beijing administration.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson also stated that China could implement its own undisclosed “retaliatory steps” if the American leader follows through on his warning, emphasizing that the country was “not afraid” of a possible trade conflict.

This past Friday, Trump retaliated at the Chinese government’s action to reinforce its regulations for overseas sales of critical elements, alleging the Chinese leadership of “turning aggressive” and attempting to hold the world “captive”.

Furthermore, he threatened to cancel a arranged talks with Chinese leader President Xi, which was arranged for a summit in South Korea later this month.

The former president’s remarks on Friday rattled stock exchanges, with the S&P 500 closing down over two and a half percent, marking its steepest fall since earlier this year.

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

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

This left, US tariffs on Chinese imports subject to an additional import tax compared with the start of the year, while US goods entering the Chinese market incur a 10% tariff.

Beijing’s recent statements – released by the Ministry of Commerce in the form of written responses to media inquiries – echoed language from the height of the recent trade conflict.

They criticised United States controls on electronic components while defending China’s own overseas sale regulations on rare earth minerals as “normal actions” to safeguard domestic safety and that of all nations.

Their representative said that for “an extended period”, the United States had “broadened the definition” of state security, abused export control measures and “implemented” biased policies against China.

“Turning to” trade levy ultimatums is not the correct approach to engage with the Chinese government,” the official said.

“Beijing’s stance” on a tariff war has consistently been consistent: we do not want one, but we are fearless of one.”

Last week, China revealed it was reinforcing overseas sale regulations on rare earth minerals and additional substances vital for advanced tech manufacturing.

This was seen as a important measure, as the state refines about 90% of the planet’s critical minerals, which are employed in goods such as photovoltaic modules and mobile phones.

New remarks from Washington and Beijing are being seen by observers as a method of strengthening positions in preparation for forthcoming discussions.

Is not yet known whether a summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, planned at a high-level meeting in Seoul in the coming weeks, will still proceed.