Xi Jinping's China Pledges Retaliation Against Countries Isolating Beijing By Giving Into Trump Administration's 'Unilateral Bullying,' Says It Will 'Never Accept It'

The Xi Jinping administration’s Ministry of Commerce has warned against the U.S. using tariffs to coerce other countries into restricting economic and trade cooperation with China.

What Happened: According to a recent release by the ministry (translated from Chinese to English using Google Translate), its spokesperson told reporters that President Donald Trump‘s administration is “promoting hegemonic politics and implementing unilateral bullying in the economic and trade fields.”

“It should be pointed out in particular that China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” the spokesperson said, according to a translated version of the statement.

If the trading partners try to isolate Beijing, “China will never accept it and will resolutely take countermeasures in a reciprocal manner.”

The press release also stated that China is willing to strengthen solidarity and coordination with all parties, work together to resist unilateral bullying, safeguard its rights and interests, and defend international fairness and justice.

Why It Matters: While expressing readiness for trade talks last week, Chinese President Jinping’s administration laid out preconditions, notably a reduction in Republican Party rhetoric and a clear articulation of desired concessions from Trump.

Furthermore, Trump expressed his hesitation to escalate tariffs on China, citing potential trade stagnation.

Trump underscored several attempts made by Beijing to initiate talks and emphasized having a good relationship with Xi, suggesting that any outreach from China would have Xi's knowledge and approval, reported Bloomberg.

“No one can remain immune to the impact of unilateralism and protectionism. Once international trade returns to the ‘law of the jungle’ where the strong prey on the weak, all countries will become victims,” the spokesperson added, according to the Chinese press release.

Price Action: As of Thursday’s close, the S&P 500 index was down 14.1% from its all-time high of 6,147.43 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 13.15% below its 52-week high, whereas the Nasdaq 100 index was 17.84% lower than its previous record.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, ended on a mixed note on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.14% to $526.41, while the QQQ declined 0.018% to $444.10, according to Benzinga Pro data.

On Monday, the futures of Dow Jones, S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 indices were down 0.70% at the time of writing.

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