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Trump’s latest warning to impose an further complete levy on items imported from China has been labeled a “prime illustration” of United States’ contradictory behavior, according to the Chinese government.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson also stated that China could introduce its own unspecified “responsive actions” if the American leader carries out his warning, noting that the country was “unafraid” of a possible trade conflict.

This past Friday, Donald Trump hit back at the Chinese government’s action to strengthen its rules for foreign shipments of critical elements, accusing China of “becoming very hostile” and attempting to hold the international market “captive”.

Furthermore, he vowed to cancel a scheduled meeting with Chinese leader Xi, which was arranged for a summit in Seoul before the month ends.

Trump’s comments on that day unsettled stock exchanges, with the S&P 500 share index closing down 2.7%, marking its steepest fall since April.

These statements reignited concerns of a commercial dispute between the United States and China.

This past spring, the two sides had consented to remove significant levies on each other’s imports, which had raised the prospect of trade halting between the two nations.

Consequently, US tariffs on Chinese goods subject to an extra import tax compared with the start of the year, while US goods entering the country incur a import levy.

China’s latest remarks – released by the Commerce Ministry in the form of official answers to journalist’s questions – mirrored rhetoric from the zenith of the ongoing trade dispute.

Officials denounced US export restrictions on electronic components while defending the country’s own export controls on rare earth minerals as “normal actions” to protect state interests and that of all nations.

The official stated that for “a long time”, the America had “overstretched the concept of state security, exploited foreign shipment regulations and “enforced” discriminatory practices against China.

“Resorting to import duty warnings is not the proper method to interact with China,” their representative stated.

“The nation’s view” on a trade conflict has consistently been unchanging: we do not want one, but we are fearless of one.”

Last week, Beijing announced it was reinforcing export controls on key elements and other materials vital for high-technology production.

This was seen as a key move, as the state handles about the vast majority of the global rare earth supply, which are utilized in products such as renewable energy components and mobile phones.

New remarks from both governments are being viewed by some as a means of enhancing bargaining power ahead of upcoming negotiations.

It is unclear whether a meeting between Donald Trump and China’s leader, scheduled at a summit in the Republic of Korea before month’s end, will still proceed.