Trump resumed his trade war with China on Friday and accused Beijing of introducing "extremely aggressive" new export restrictions on so-called rare earth metals.
Trump announced additional tariffs – as well as export controls on "critical software" – which are set to come into force on November 1. Trump also threatened to cancel a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Apec summit in South Korea later this month. It would be the first meeting between the leaders since Trump returned to power in January.
Escalating
On Sunday, China's Ministry of Commerce called Trump's tariff threats a "typical example of double standards".
The ministry said that Washington had escalated the economic measures against Beijing since September.
"Threatening with high tariffs every time is not the right way to conduct dialogue with China", it said in a statement online.
Chinese goods are currently subject to 30 percent American tariffs that Trump introduced citing Beijing's contribution to the trade in fentanyl in the US and alleged unfair business practices.
Hostile stance
China's tariffs on the US currently stand at 10 percent.
Rare earth metals have been a key point of contention in recent trade negotiations between the two superpowers. They are crucial for the production of everything from smartphones and electric cars to military equipment and renewable energy technology.
China dominates the global production and processing of these materials and announced on Thursday new controls on the export of technology used for mining and processing.
In response, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social that China had taken a "very hostile" stance and should not be "allowed to hold the world hostage".
