China has warned it will “resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests” if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, urging the U.S. government to seek dialogue instead of confrontation. Report by ILM.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement posted online that while China does not want a tariff war, they are “not afraid of one”.

The ministry criticised Washington’s “frequent resort to high tariffs” and said differences should be resolved through negotiation. It also accused the U.S. of violating a trade truce by expanding export controls on Chinese firms and introducing new port fees on Chinese ships. These are measures that prompted Beijing to announce reciprocal fees on U.S. vessels.

Trump has warned he could add export controls on unspecified “critical software”, escalating tensions that threaten a planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The dispute centres on China’s dominance of rare earths, of which it mines about 70% and processes 90% globally. These are key materials for electronics, electric vehicles and military technologies.

While China said export licenses would continue for legitimate civilian uses, it defended its new rules requiring government approval for any foreign product containing Chinese-sourced rare earths.