China hits back against Trump claims that it broke trade truce as tensions simmer
Recent developments have damped optimism that the two superpowers will reach a lasting deal.
China has pushed back against President Trump’s accusation that it broke a trade truce reached just weeks earlier, as a re-escalation of tensions dim hopes of a resolution.
Beijing has acted responsibly and upheld the consensus reached at the economic and trade talks in Geneva, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on its website Monday.
Washington and Beijing agreed in mid-May to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tariffs after talks in Geneva, sending a wave of relief across global markets that had been hammered by fears of a trade war since Trump took office and started raising tariffs on China and other countries.
Recent developments have damped optimism that the two superpowers will reach a lasting deal, with tensions flaring up over issues such as China’s exports of rare-earth minerals and the Trump administration’s crackdown on student visas.
On Monday, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said it is the U.S. side that has “seriously undermined" the consensus reached in Geneva. It alleged that Washington introduced multiple “discriminatory and restrictive measures" against China, such as issuing export-control guidelines for artificial-intelligence chips and revoking visas for Chinese students.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Commerce Ministry’s statement came after Trump said in a social-media post on Friday that China “has totally violated its agreement with U.S."
He repeated the accusation later on, telling reporters at the Oval Office that he was certain he would speak to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about the matter.
“They violated a big part of the agreement we made," Trump said. “I’m sure that I’ll speak to President Xi, hopefully we’ll work that out. It’s a violation of the agreement."
He didn’t provide details.
The latest signs of a breakdown in progress toward a deal soured the mood in markets, with Chinese companies falling again in Hong Kong on Monday. That followed declines on Friday after comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent describing U.S.-China talks as “a bit stalled."
The benchmark Hang Seng Index led declines in holiday-thinned Asia trading, falling 2.2% by midday. The Hang Seng Tech Index was down 2.4%. Chinese state-owned steel manufacturers added to the downward pressure, reacting to Trump’s threat to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com
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