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Trump’s newest threat to enforce an additional full import duty on products from China has been called a “classic case” of American hypocrisy, as stated by the Chinese government.

A representative of the ministry further commented that China could enact its own unspecified “retaliatory steps” if the White House occupant executes his threat, adding that the country was “fearless” of a looming trade conflict.

On Friday, the former president responded at Beijing’s move to reinforce its regulations for foreign shipments of rare earth minerals, charging Beijing of “adopting a confrontational stance” and attempting to hold the world “under its control”.

He also vowed to withdraw from a scheduled meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, which was expected to take place during a summit in the Republic of Korea before the month ends.

His statements on that day unsettled stock exchanges, with the S&P 500 dropping over two and a half percent, marking its steepest fall since earlier this year.

These statements renewed apprehensions of a trade war between the US and China.

Earlier this year, the respective governments had reached an agreement to eliminate significant levies on each other’s products, which had raised the prospect of trade halting between the two nations.

Consequently, US tariffs on products from China subject to an added thirty percent tariff compared with the start of the year, while US goods entering the Chinese market are subject to a ten percent duty.

Beijing’s recent statements – issued by the relevant government department in the form of official answers to journalist’s questions – echoed rhetoric from the peak of the latest commercial tensions.

They criticised American limits on exports on semiconductors and chips while defending China’s own export controls on key elements as “routine measures” to protect domestic safety and that of the global community.

The official stated that for “an extended period”, the America had “overstretched the concept of domestic safety, misused foreign shipment regulations and “implemented” unfair treatments against the Chinese nation.

“Resorting to trade levy ultimatums is not the correct approach to interact with China,” the spokesperson commented.

“China’s position on a import duty dispute has always been unchanging: we wish to avoid one, but we are unafraid of one.”

Last week, Beijing revealed it was tightening export controls on rare earths and additional substances vital for advanced tech manufacturing.

This was seen as a significant step, as the state refines about 90% of the global rare earth supply, which are utilized in products such as solar panels and smartphones.

Latest statements from the US and China are being interpreted by some as a strategy of enhancing bargaining power prior to future trade talks.

Is not yet known whether a meeting between the former president and China’s leader, planned at a summit in Seoul before month’s end, will take place as planned.