China 'firmly rejects' US claim that it violated tariff deal
By Matthew WALSH
Beijing (AFP) June 2, 2025

China said Monday it "firmly rejects" US claims that it had violated a sweeping tariffs deal, as tensions between the two economic superpowers showed signs of ratcheting back up.

Beijing and Washington last month agreed to slash staggeringly high tariffs on each other for 90 days after talks between top officials in Geneva.

But top Washington officials last week accused China of violating the deal, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Beijing was "slow-rolling" the agreement in comments to "Fox News Sunday".

China hit back Monday, saying Washington "has made bogus charges and unreasonably accused China of violating the consensus, which is seriously contrary to the facts".

"China firmly rejects these unreasonable accusations," its commerce ministry said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump said last week that China had "totally violated" the deal, without providing details.

Beijing's commerce ministry said it "has been firm in safeguarding its rights and interests, and sincere in implementing the consensus".

It fired back that Washington "has successively introduced a number of discriminatory restrictive measures against China" since the Geneva talks.

The ministry cited export controls on artificial intelligence chips, curbs on the sale of chip design software and the revocation of Chinese student visas in the United States.

"We urge the US to meet China halfway, immediately correct its wrongful actions, and jointly uphold the consensus from the Geneva trade talks," the ministry said.

If not, "China will continue to resolutely take strong measures to uphold its legitimate rights and interests," it added.

- Trump-Xi talks? -

US officials have said they are frustrated by what they see as Chinese foot-dragging on approving export licences for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips.

But Washington's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent looked to ease the pressure on Sunday, saying the two sides could arrange a call between their respective heads of state to resolve their differences.

"I'm confident... this will be ironed out" in a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bessent said on CBS's "Face the Nation".

He added, however, that China was "withholding some of the products that they agreed to release", including rare earths.

On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: "I believe we will see something very soon."

China has been less forthcoming, and the commerce ministry's statement on Monday did not mention any planned conversations between the two leaders.

The Geneva deal was "an important consensus reached by the two sides on the principle of mutual respect and equality, and its results were hard-won", the ministry said.

It warned Washington against "going its own way and continuing to harm China's interests".

Global stocks finished mixed on Friday after Trump made his social media post accusing Beijing.

The Hong Kong stock exchange was down around 2 percent shortly after opening on Monday.

US says trade row with China could ease after Trump-Xi talks
Washington (AFP) June 1, 2025 - A logjam in the trade talks between the United States and China could be broken once Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping speak, US officials said Sunday -- a conversation they said could happen soon.

Trump on Friday accused Beijing of violating a deal reached last month in Geneva to temporarily lower staggeringly high tariffs the world's two biggest economies had imposed on each other, in a pause to last 90 days.

China's slow-walking on export license approvals for rare earths and other elements needed to make cars and chips have fueled US frustration, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday -- a concern since confirmed by US officials.

But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent seemed to take the pressure down a notch on Sunday, telling CBS's "Face the Nation" that the gaps could soon be bridged.

"I'm confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call that this will be ironed out," Bessent said, however noting that China was "withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement."

When asked if rare earths were one of those products, Bessent said, "Yes."

"Maybe it's a glitch in the Chinese system. Maybe it's intentional. We'll see after the president speaks with" Xi, he said.

On when a Trump-Xi call could take place, Bessent said: "I believe we will see something very soon."

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House's National Economic Council told ABC that the call could happen "this week" but that he had no confirmation of a scheduled time.

Since Trump returned to the presidency, he has slapped sweeping tariffs on most US trading partners, with especially high rates on Chinese imports.

New tit-for-tat levies on both sides reached three digits before the de-escalation this month, where Washington agreed to temporarily reduce additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent.

China, meanwhile, lowered its added duties from 125 percent to 10 percent.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told "Fox News Sunday" that China was "slow-rolling the deal," adding: "We are taking certain actions to show them what it feels like on the other side of that equation."

"Our president understands what to do. He's going to go work it out," Lutnick said.

Lutnick also said that a US court battle over Trump's tariff strategy -- one court's ruling to block the tariffs has been stayed pending an appeal -- would ultimately end with a win for the president.

"Tariffs are not going away," Lutnick said.

- 'We've got to be ready' -

Separate from the China deal, Trump said Friday he would double sector-specific tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent starting June 4 -- sparking ire from the European Union, which said it would retaliate.

Hassett said China's dumping of low-cost steel was hurting US industry -- which in turn was hindering US military preparedness.

"The bottom line is that we've got to be ready in case things don't happen the way we want, because if we have cannons but not cannonballs, then we can't fight a war," Hassett told "This Week."

"And if we don't have steel, then the US isn't ready, and we're not preparing ourselves for something," he added.

"We have to have a steel industry that's ready for American defense."

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