China warned on Monday that it would take retaliatory actions against countries that align with the United States in ways that harm Beijing’s interests, as the trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies risks involving other nations.
China’s warning follows reports that the Trump administration plans to use tariff negotiations to pressure U.S. allies into reducing their trade with China.
This month, Trump paused significant tariff hikes on other countries for 90 days, while increasing duties on Chinese goods to 145%.
“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests. If this happens, China will not accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, according to a CNBC translation.
The ministry warned of the risks to all countries if international trade devolves into a “law of the jungle” situation, where might and self-interest dominate over fair practices.
The statement also portrayed China as committed to cooperating with all parties to “defend international fairness and justice,” while condemning U.S. actions as “abusing tariffs” and engaging in “unilateral bullying.”
This month, China adopted a tougher approach, retaliating against U.S. tariffs with 125% levies on American imports. Beijing also imposed restrictions on the export of critical minerals and placed several smaller U.S. companies on blacklists, limiting their ability to do business with Chinese firms.
Analysts believe a U.S.-China deal is unlikely in the near future, although Trump stated on Thursday that he expects an agreement to be reached within the next three to four weeks.
Chinese President Xi Jinping embarked on his first overseas trip of 2025 last week, visiting Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia. In official statements following his meetings with the leaders of these nations, Xi called for collective action against tariffs and “unilateral bullying.”
Since Trump imposed tariffs on China during his first term, the Asian country has boosted its trade with Southeast Asia, which is now China’s largest regional trading partner.
However, the U.S. remains China’s largest trading partner on a single-country basis.
