Trump: The United States wants to help China not harm it on trade

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States wants to help China, not hurt it, striking a conciliatory tone, days after threatening to impose additional 100% tariffs on Beijing.

Trump threatened on Friday to impose additional tariffs on China and indicated he might cancel a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for this month, leading to a decline in Wall Street amid fears of a renewed US-China trade war.

Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The United States wants to help China, not hurt it,” adding, “I respect President Xi… I don’t want his country to suffer a recession”.

Trump said Friday he may impose additional tariffs on the world’s second-largest economy starting November 1 in response to what he called very aggressive new Chinese restrictions on rare earth exports.

In contrast, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Sunday described Trump’s threat to impose tariffs as a clear example of double standards.

“Threatening to impose high tariffs at every turn is not the right approach to dealing with China,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce added.

Chinese products are currently subject to a 30% US tariff based on tariffs imposed by Trump, who accused Beijing of supporting the fentanyl trade and engaging in unfair trade practices.

The tariffs imposed by China in response currently stand at 10%.

The issue of rare earths was among the main points of contention during recent trade negotiations between the two powers.

These minerals are essential in the manufacture of a variety of products, from smartphones to electric vehicles and military equipment, to renewable energy technology.

China dominates global production and processing of these materials and on Thursday announced new controls on the export of technology used in mining and processing critical minerals.