As the deadline for the U.S. pause on country-specific reciprocal tariffs approaches on the 8th of next month, China emphasized once again that "countries negotiating with the United States should not make China a scapegoat."
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce stated in a statement posted on its website on the 28th that "Since April of this year, the United States has imposed additional so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' on global trade partners, which is a typical act of unilateral harassment," and claimed that it "seriously undermined the normal international trade order."
China’s Ministry of Commerce further stated, "China expects all parties to resolve economic and trade conflicts with the United States through equal negotiations."
The spokesperson also urged that "China simultaneously calls on all parties to firmly adhere to international economic and trade rules and multilateral trading systems," stating that "China resolutely opposes any party conducting transactions at the expense of China’s interests to gain tariff benefits."
It added, "If such a situation occurs, China will never accept it and will resolutely retaliate to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."
Earlier, Scott Bessent, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, noted in an interview with Fox Business on the 27th (local time) that negotiations with some of the 18 major trading partners could be completed by Labor Day, which falls on September 1st.
He added, "Countries are coming to us with very good proposals."
The United States, under President Donald Trump, postponed the country-specific reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2nd until the 8th of next month, and is currently negotiating with major trading partners, including Korea.
Some analysts suggest that the United States is demanding cooperation from negotiating partners in economic security areas such as export controls and supply chains to counter China.