China warns nations against ‘appeasing’ US in trade deals

China has warned countries against appeasing the US in trade talks over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

A Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson made the comments in response to a report that Washington plans to put pressure on governments to restrict trade with Beijing in exchange for exemptions to US import taxes.

The Trump administration has started talks with trading partners over tariffs, with a Japanese delegation visiting Washington last week and South Korea is set to start negotiations this week.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed hefty tariffs on Chinese imports, while other countries have also been hit with levies on their goods.

“Appeasement cannot bring peace, and compromise cannot earn one respect,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said.

“China believes that all parties should stand on the side of fairness… and should defend international economic and trade rules and the multilateral trading system.”

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US plans to use tariff negotiations to pressure dozens of countries into imposing new barriers on trade with China.

The BBC has asked the US Treasury Department and the US Trade Representative for responses to the report.

“If you put the numbers on it, about 20% of Japan’s profitability comes from the United States, about 15% comes from the People’s Republic of China,” said Jesper Koll, from Japanese online trading platform operator Monex Group.

“Certainly, Japan doesn’t want to [have to] choose between America and the People’s Republic of China.”

Since Trump’s inauguration, there has been a flurry of announcements on tariffs.

The US president has said the import taxes will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised, and lead to major investments in the country.

But critics have said bringing manufacturing back to the US is complicated and could take decades and that the economy will struggle in the meantime.

Trump has also backtracked on many of his announcements.

Just hours after steep levies on dozens of America’s trading partners kicked in earlier this month, he announced a 90-day pause on those tariffs to all countries bar China, in the face of mounting opposition from politicians and the markets.

Trump has imposed taxes of up to 145% on imports from China. Other countries are now facing a blanket US tariff of 10% until July.

His administration said last week that when the new tariffs are added on to existing ones, the levies on some Chinese goods could reach 245%.

Trump has said more than 70 countries have reached out to start negotiations since the tariffs were announced.