Beijing warns countries against colluding with US to restrict trade with China

Beijing has warned its trading partners against giving in to US pressure to limit trade with China in exchange for an exemption from President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs.

China warned on Monday that it will strike against countries who collaborate with the United States in ways that harm Beijing's interests, as the trade war between the world's two largest economies threatens to engulf other countries.

In response to recent media allegations regarding US plans to use tariff discussions to isolate China's economy, a spokeswoman for China's Commerce Ministry stated on Monday: "Appeasement does not bring peace, and compromise does not earn respect."

“Seeking temporary self-interest at the expense of others — in exchange for so-called exemptions — is like asking a tiger for its skin. In the end, it will achieve nothing and harm both others and oneself,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests. If such a situation arises, China will not accept it and will resolutely take reciprocal countermeasures,” the spokesperson added.

The ministry cautioned about the risk to all countries once international trade returns to the “law of the jungle.”

China's warning comes as US President Donald Trump's administration is allegedly preparing to use tariff discussions to persuade US partners to curtail their trade with China. This month, Trump halted large tariff increases on other nations for 90 days, while increasing taxes on Chinese imports to 145%.

In a turn toward a tougher posture this month, China reacted against US taxes with 125% charges on American products. Beijing has also limited vital resource exports and placed numerous, largely smaller, US corporations on blacklists, limiting their ability to do business with Chinese enterprises.

Analysts do not anticipate the United States and China to achieve an agreement anytime soon, despite Trump's statement on Thursday that an agreement might be struck within the next three or four weeks.

The plan is to extract commitments from US trading partners to isolate China's economy in exchange for reductions in trade and tariff barriers imposed by the White House, such as asking nations to prohibit China from shipping goods through their countries, prevent Chinese firms from setting up in their territories to avoid US tariffs, and not absorb China's cheap industrial goods into their economies.