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Donald Trump’s latest ultimatum to impose an extra full import duty on products from China has been called a “classic case” of American hypocrisy, according to the China’s leadership.

A Commerce Ministry spokesperson additionally remarked that China could implement its own unrevealed “responsive actions” if the American leader carries out his pledge, noting that the country was “fearless” of a looming commercial battle.

On Friday, Donald Trump hit back at the Chinese government’s action to reinforce its policies for foreign shipments of rare earth minerals, alleging Beijing of “becoming very hostile” and attempting to hold the global community “captive”.

He also threatened to cancel a arranged talks with China’s President Xi Jinping, which was arranged for a meeting in South Korea in the coming weeks.

His statements on last Friday rattled financial markets, with the benchmark US stock index closing down nearly three percent, marking its largest decline since April.

These statements renewed fears of a trade war between the two economic giants.

This past spring, the both nations had consented to drop high import duties on each other’s products, which had created the possibility of bilateral trade stopping between the two nations.

Consequently, US tariffs on products from China incurring an extra 30% levy compared with the start of the year, while items from the United States entering China incur a ten percent duty.

Beijing’s recent statements – released by the Ministry of Commerce in the manner of formal replies to journalist’s questions – echoed rhetoric from the height of the ongoing trade dispute.

The remarks condemned American limits on exports on electronic components while supporting China’s own export controls on rare earths as “standard procedures” to ensure national security and that of all nations.

Their representative remarked that for “many years”, the United States had “overstretched the concept of domestic safety, exploited export control measures and “enforced” biased policies against Beijing.

“Resorting to import duty warnings is not the proper method to interact with Beijing,” their representative stated.

“Beijing’s stance” on a trade conflict has consistently been unchanging: we are not seeking one, but we are unafraid of one.”

Last week, Beijing announced it was strengthening export controls on key elements and further resources essential to advanced tech manufacturing.

This move was regarded as a key move, as the state handles about ninety percent of the global rare earth supply, which are employed in goods such as renewable energy components and handheld devices.

The recent comments from the US and China are being seen by analysts as a strategy of bolstering negotiating stances ahead of future trade talks.

It is unclear whether a meeting between the former president and Xi Jinping, expected at a high-level meeting in the Republic of Korea in the coming weeks, will still proceed.