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President Donald Trump moved to calm fears of an escalating trade war with Beijing on Sunday when he threatened to impose 100% tariffs. Chinese imports In response to the country’s export restrictions on rare earth minerals.
Trump’s new tariffs on China would be a large increase from the current average 55% levy.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said China’s economic troubles “will be all right” and stressed that the US “wants to help China, not hurt it.”
“Don’t worry about China, everything will be fine!” Trump wrote. “highly esteemed President Xi It was just a bad moment. He doesn’t want recession in his country and neither do I. America wants to help China, not harm it!!!
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Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during an international business meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on March 28, 2025; Right: President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing an executive order “unleashing prosperity (Left: Ken Ishii – Pool/Getty Images; Right: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Getty Images)
The post came a few hours later China issued official response Trump’s threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports by November 1, warning Washington not to resort to “threats” and promising to “firmly take appropriate measures” if the US moves forward.
“China’s position is consistent,” the commerce ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
“We don’t want a tariff war, but we’re not afraid of one either.” The ministry urged the US to resolve differences “through dialogue”, calling repeated tariff threats “not the right way to get along with China”.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during a joint press conference of the China-Central Asia summit in Xian, in China’s northern Shaanxi province, on May 19, 2023. (Florence LO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Beijing suggested it would retaliate against any new tariffs the US imposes on Chinese imports.
Sunday’s exchanges pointed toward a trade truce between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump’s threat initially stemmed from new Chinese restrictions on exports of rare earths, or minerals that are vital to advanced manufacturing and military technology.
China controls about 70% of global rare earth mining and about 90% of processing capacity.
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Vice President JD Vance spoke to Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures” yesterday. (Fox Business/FoxBusiness)
vice president JD Vance He also defended Trump’s stance in an appearance on Fox News, where he called Beijing’s dominance of key supply chains “the definition of a national emergency.”
Vance said on “Sunday Morning Futures”, “It’s going to be a delicate dance and a lot of it will depend on how the Chinese respond. If they respond in an overly aggressive manner, I guarantee you the President of the United States has far more cards in his hands than the People’s Republic of China.”
Trump’s tariff threat and China’s response have also cast doubt on a meeting with Xi later this year.
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from china Ministry of Commerce Said it would continue to grant export licenses for legitimate civilian uses of rare earths, but warned that “if the US side persists in its practice, Beijing will act to protect its interests.”
Fox News Digital contacted the White House for comment.
