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Donald Trump’s latest ultimatum to impose an extra full import duty on Chinese goods has been labeled a “prime illustration” of United States’ contradictory behavior, as stated by the China’s leadership.

A official from China’s Commerce Ministry further commented that Beijing could implement its own undisclosed “countermeasures” if the US President follows through on his threat, noting that the country was “fearless” of a potential trade conflict.

Last Friday, Trump hit back at the Chinese government’s action to strengthen its regulations for overseas sales of rare earth minerals, accusing Beijing of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the global community “captive”.

Furthermore, he vowed to pull out of a scheduled meeting with Chinese leader President Xi, which was arranged for a summit in the Republic of Korea later this month.

Trump’s comments on Friday shook global markets, with the S&P 500 falling by 2.7%, marking its biggest drop since last spring.

His comments revived fears of a trade conflict between the two economic giants.

In May, the two sides had consented to remove high import duties on each other’s imports, which had created the possibility of trade halting between the two countries.

This left, American import duties on Chinese goods incurring an additional import tax compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering China face a ten percent duty.

China’s latest remarks – published by the Ministry of Commerce in the form of written responses to press queries – reflected rhetoric from the zenith of the ongoing trade dispute.

Officials denounced US export restrictions on electronic components while supporting the country’s own overseas sale regulations on key elements as “normal actions” to ensure state interests and that of all nations.

The official said that for “a long time”, the US had “overstretched the concept of state security, exploited export control measures and “implemented” discriminatory practices against Beijing.

“Using” trade levy ultimatums is not the correct approach to engage with the Chinese government,” their representative stated.

“The nation’s view” on a tariff war has always been unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are not afraid of one.”

Recently, China revealed it was reinforcing export controls on rare earths and additional substances vital for advanced tech manufacturing.

This move was regarded as a key move, as the state refines about the vast majority of the planet’s critical minerals, which are used in products such as solar panels and handheld devices.

New remarks from both governments are being seen by some as a means of bolstering negotiating stances in preparation for forthcoming discussions.

Is not yet known whether a talks between Donald Trump and President Xi, planned at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea before month’s end, will take place as planned.