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Donald Trump’s newest threat to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods has been labeled a “typical example” of United States’ contradictory behavior, according to the Beijing administration.

A official from China’s Commerce Ministry also stated that China could introduce its own undisclosed “responsive actions” if the US President executes his threat, noting that the country was “not afraid” of a looming trade conflict.

On Friday, the former president retaliated at China’s decision to strengthen its policies for foreign shipments of critical elements, charging the Chinese leadership of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the world “hostage”.

Furthermore, he warned to pull out of a arranged summit with China’s President Xi, which was arranged for a summit in South Korea later this month.

The former president’s remarks on that day unsettled global markets, with the S&P 500 closing down over two and a half percent, marking its biggest drop since earlier this year.

The president’s words revived fears of a trade conflict between the United States and China.

Earlier this year, the both nations had consented to drop triple-digit tariffs on each other’s imports, which had created the possibility of bilateral trade stopping between the two nations.

This left, American import duties on Chinese imports facing an added thirty percent tariff compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering the country face a 10% tariff.

Beijing’s recent statements – issued by the relevant government department in the format of written responses to press queries – mirrored terminology from the height of the latest commercial tensions.

Officials denounced US export restrictions on electronic components while justifying Beijing’s restrictions on exports on rare earth minerals as “routine measures” to protect domestic safety and that of the global community.

Their representative said that for “an extended period”, the United States had “expanded the interpretation” of state security, misused overseas sale restrictions and “implemented” biased policies against the Chinese nation.

“Turning to” trade levy ultimatums is not the proper method to deal with Beijing,” the spokesperson stated.

“China’s position on a trade conflict has always been unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are not afraid of one.”

The previous week, Beijing declared it was reinforcing overseas sale regulations on rare earths and additional substances critical for advanced tech manufacturing.

This was seen as a key move, as the nation handles about the vast majority of the world’s rare earths, which are used in goods such as photovoltaic modules and handheld devices.

New remarks from the US and China are being viewed by analysts as a means of bolstering negotiating stances in preparation for forthcoming discussions.

Remains uncertain whether a summit between Donald Trump and China’s leader, scheduled at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea in the coming weeks, will still proceed.