China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

When asked by the media about US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer claimed that whether the US will implement 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese products depends on China, and he thought there was still a chance to resolve a dispute over critical minerals restrictions, He Yongqian, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday that following the China-US economic and trade talks in Madrid, despite repeated dissuasions from the Chinese side, the US side introduced a string of 20 suppressive measures targeting China in just 20 days, which have severely harmed China's interests and undermined the atmosphere of bilateral economic and trade talks.

In particular, at the end of September, the US has arbitrarily expanded the scope of control over businesses with the Affiliates Rule that affects thousands of Chinese companies, and insisted on implementing it on October 1 in disregard of China's goodwill for consultation. Also, the US persisted with the implementation of Section 301 measures targeting China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries, which has severely harmed China's interests, with an extremely negative impact, He said. 

The spokesperson said Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this series of actions by the US. We hope the US value the outcomes of the economic and trade talks and immediately correct its wrong practices. China stands ready to properly address each other's concerns through equal dialogue with the US on the basis of mutual respect.

Prior to the implementation of the measures, Chinese side had already notified the relevant countries and regions, including the US, through the bilateral export control dialogue mechanism. We clarified the policy objectives to mitigate misunderstandings and miscalculations, according to He.

He said some countries and regions have expressed understanding and are actively engaging in communicating and collaborating with China.

Global Times