China accuses US of severely violating trade truce

China has accused the US of “severely violating” the trade truce and vowed to take strong measures to protect its interests as tensions between the two powers reignite.

In early May, China and the US reached an agreement during talks in Geneva to temporarily reduce mutual tariffs, which had climbed as high as 145%.

US officials have grown increasingly concerned about the slowdown in China’s rare earth exports since the May 12 agreement, while President Donald Trump claimed on Friday that China had “completely violated” the deal.

However, on Monday, China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that Washington had implemented “a series of discriminatory and restrictive measures” in recent weeks. These actions, according to the ministry, undermined the Geneva consensus and harmed “China’s legitimate rights and interests.”

The ministry declared, “If the US insists on its own path and continues to harm China’s interests, China will continue to take strong and decisive measures to protect its legitimate rights.”

Among the US measures cited in the statement are warnings against the global use of Huawei chips, the suspension of chip design software sales to Chinese firms, and the cancellation of visas for Chinese students.

US officials had anticipated that the agreement reached on May 12 would lead China to lift its export restrictions on rare earth elements, which were announced in early April. However, China did not alter its export regime and continued to slow shipments to the US.

These critical minerals are extensively used in American automotive, electronics, and defense supply chains. The slowdown in exports to the US elevates the threat of work stoppages within the US manufacturing sector.

China’s Ministry of Commerce asserted, “The US has unilaterally initiated new trade frictions.” The ministry further added, “Instead of questioning its own actions, it accused China of violating the consensus.”

Trump informed reporters on Friday that he hoped to resolve the dispute in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump has yet to act on this idea, which he has mentioned several times in recent months.