BEIJING, China — China has accused the United States of “severely violating” a recently agreed trade truce and warned of strong countermeasures to defend its economic interests.
In a statement on Monday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said the US had “seriously undermined” the agreement reached during talks in Geneva last month, when both nations agreed to scale back tariffs on each other’s goods.
The Ministry also cited a breach of consensus reached during a January phone call between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
This comes after President Trump claimed China had “totally violated its agreement with us,” without offering specifics.
Later, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said China had failed to remove non-tariff barriers, a key component of the May deal.
Under the Geneva agreement, the US reduced tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China dropped its retaliatory tariffs from 125% to 10%.
Beijing accused Washington of violating the deal by halting the sale of chip design software to Chinese firms, issuing warnings against the use of Huawei chips, and revoking visas for Chinese students.
Despite mounting tensions, two top White House officials suggested on Sunday that a fresh conversation between the two leaders could be on the horizon.
Treasury Secretary Bessent told CBS News that issues could be resolved once Xi and Trump speak, though no date was confirmed.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett echoed the sentiment, noting both sides had shown “a willingness to talk.”
However, Beijing prefers that lower-level agreements are ironed out before any presidential-level talks.
The renewed tensions come on the heels of Trump’s announcement last week that US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports will double to 50% starting Wednesday, a move he says will protect American industry and reduce dependency on Chinese supplies.
