China on Monday stepped up its attacks on the Trump administration over billions of dollars’ worth of threatened tariffs, saying Washington is to blame for trade frictions.
It also added that negotiating with the U.S under ‘current circumstances’ was impossible.
The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday predicted China would take down its trade barriers, and expressed optimism that both sides could resolve the issue through talks.
Chinese state researchers and media talked down the likely impact of U.S. trade measures on the world’s second-largest economy and described the Trump administration’s posturing on trade as the product of an “anxiety disorder”.
“Under the current circumstances, both sides cannot have talks on these issues.
“The United States with one hand wields the threat of sanctions, and at the same time says they are willing to talk. I’m not sure who the United States is putting on this act for,” Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told reporters at a regular news briefing.