China slams US tariffs as "hypocritical" defends rare earth export curbs

Beijing [China], October 12 : China has pushed back against US President Donald Trump's decision to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods, calling the move hypocritical and defending its own export restrictions on rare earth materials and related equipment, Al Jazeera reported.

In a lengthy statement on Sunday, China's Ministry of Commerce said its export controls on rare earths, which Trump had labelled "surprising" and "very hostile", were introduced in response to a series of US measures since their trade talks held in Madrid, Spain, last month.

"China's stance is consistent," the ministry said in a statement posted online. "We do not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of one."

The Chinese response came two days after President Trump announced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese exports to the US, along with new export controls on critical software, set to take effect on November 1, as per Al Jazeera.

China, in turn, pointed to several recent US actionsincluding the blacklisting of Chinese firms and new port fees targeting China-linked vesselsas examples of what it called "provocative and damaging" behaviour.

"These actions have severely harmed China's interests and undermined the atmosphere for bilateral economic and trade talks. China firmly opposes them," the Commerce Ministry stated.

China also accused the US of applying double standards, criticising Trump's tariffs as a "typical example" of hypocrisy given Washington's own recent trade restrictions.

Notably, while Beijing has vocally condemned the US moves, it has not yet announced any direct countermeasures, marking a departure from earlier rounds of back-and-forth tariff escalation.

At the centre of the current tensions are rare earth elements, a group of 17 minerals essential for the production of a wide range of technologies from smartphones and electric vehicles to advanced military systems and renewable energy infrastructure, according to Al Jazeera.

China is the world's dominant producer and processor of rare earths, giving it significant leverage in global supply chains. On Thursday, Beijing announced new export controls specifically targeting the technologies used in the mining and processing of critical minerals, adding another layer of complexity to the ongoing US-China trade dispute.

The renewed trade tensions between the world's two largest economies also risk derailing a potential summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea later this month. It would have been their first face-to-face encounter since Trump returned to power in January.

The dispute has also rattled global markets, dragging down major tech stocks and worrying companies reliant on China's dominance in rare earth processing.

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