China still not ready to negotiate with US after Trump further increases tariffs, officials indicate
Trump hit China with 125% tariff Wednesday over what he called Beijing’s "lack of respect" toward America
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China is still not ready to negotiate with the U.S. after President Donald Trump further increased tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% on Wednesday, with one Chinese official saying Beijing will "follow through to the end" in a tariff war.
Speaking during a regular press briefing on Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yongqian said China is open to dialogue with the U.S., but only if there is mutual respect and equality between the world’s two largest economies. He further said that pressure, threats and blackmail from Washington are the wrong way to deal with China.
China will "follow through to the end" if the U.S. insists on its own way, He said, according to Reuters.
Trump imposed the increased tariff on China over what he called Beijing’s "lack of respect" towards America, while at the same time backing off reciprocal tariffs on over 75 other nations for 90 days, saying these countries were looking to negotiate with the U.S.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a "Make America Wealthy Again" trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Trump said tariffs on the countries where the larger reciprocal tariffs are paused will be set at 10% during negotiations.
Trump's move came just hours after China announced it was increasing its reciprocal tariff on U.S. goods from 34% to 84%. China's escalation was in response to Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods to the U.S. increasing to 104% shortly after midnight Wednesday.
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Other Chinese officials have also said that talks between Beijing and Washington would not occur under current conditions.
"We must solemnly tell the U.S.: a tariff-wielding barbarian who attempts to force countries to call and beg for mercy can never expect that call from China," Huang Jingrui, the spokesperson for the Hong Kong office of China's Foreign Ministry, wrote in an op-ed published in the South China Morning Post.
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Huang wrote that the U.S. should "immediately rectify its wrong practices and adopt the right attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit" if it’s serious about talks with China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said China would never accept such a "bullying move" when asked about the tariffs during a press briefing.
"The U.S. uses tariff[s] as a weapon to exert maximum pressure for its own selfish gains, which severely hurts the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, violates the WTO rules, sabotages the rules-based multilateral trading regime, and destabilizes the global economic order," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he leaves after speaking at a press event with members of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Chinese and Foreign journalists at The Great Hall of People on Oct. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, posted a video of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong delivering a speech from 1953 during the Korean War, adding the words: "We are not afraid of provocations. We don’t back down."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said Beijing is willing to negotiate with Washington, though "if the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end," China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.
U.S. officials have said a resolution with China is possible, though the U.S. will prioritize talks with other countries, including China’s neighbors, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and India.