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Trump’s newest warning to introduce an extra complete levy on items imported from China has been called a “classic case” of United States’ contradictory behavior, as stated by the Beijing administration.

A representative of the ministry also stated that China could enact its own unrevealed “countermeasures” if the US President follows through on his threat, emphasizing that the country was “unafraid” of a possible trade war.

On Friday, Donald Trump responded at the Chinese government’s action to reinforce its policies for foreign shipments of rare earths, alleging China of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the world “hostage”.

Furthermore, he vowed to cancel a scheduled talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which was expected to take place during a meeting in the Republic of Korea in the coming weeks.

Trump’s comments on Friday unsettled financial markets, with the S&P 500 share index closing down 2.7%, marking its largest decline since earlier this year.

His comments reignited concerns of a trade conflict between the United States and China.

In May, the two sides had agreed to eliminate significant levies on each other’s imports, which had led to concerns of trade halting between the economic powers.

This left, US tariffs on Chinese goods facing an additional thirty percent tariff compared with the year’s onset, while US goods entering China face a import levy.

China’s latest remarks – issued by the Commerce Ministry in the form of formal replies to journalist’s questions – reflected terminology from the height of the ongoing trade dispute.

Officials denounced American limits on exports on chips and semi-conductors while supporting Beijing’s restrictions on exports on rare earth minerals as “standard procedures” to protect national security and that of all nations.

The official stated that for “a long time”, the America had “overstretched the concept of national security, exploited foreign shipment regulations and “implemented” biased policies against Beijing.

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

“China’s position on a trade conflict has always been consistent: we wish to avoid one, but we are not afraid of one.”

Last week, Beijing revealed it was tightening foreign shipment restrictions on rare earth minerals and further resources essential to advanced tech manufacturing.

This was seen as a key move, as the state refines about the vast majority of the global rare earth supply, which are used in products such as solar panels and handheld devices.

Latest statements from both governments are being seen by some as a strategy of enhancing bargaining power in preparation for forthcoming discussions.

Remains uncertain whether a summit between the former president and President Xi, scheduled at a summit in the Republic of Korea later this month, will go ahead.