Beijing warns countries negotiating tariffs with Washington not to harm its interests: 'China will take reciprocal measures'

As governments around the world try to negotiate better terms on tariffs imposed by Washington, taking advantage of a 90-day pause, a warning came from Beijing: China "will resolutely take reciprocal measures" against those who harm its interests in its quest to "appease" the United States.

The White House imposed a 10% across-the-board tariff on all countries except China, to whom it progressively raised tariffs to 145%. Despite warnings against retaliating, the latter imposed tariffs of 125% on U.S. products. It assured that it would not raise this figure again, since that figure removes any attraction to American imports.

"Appeasement will not bring peace, and agreements will not be respected," a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Monday. "Pursuing temporary selfish interests at the expense of others' interests will ultimately hurt everyone," he added. "China firmly opposes any party reaching an agreement at the expense of China's interests."

As for the negotiations between the two superpowers, Trump asserted that he hopes to reach a deal sooner rather than later, claiming that several behind-the-scenes talks had taken place. For the time being, however, the onslaught continues.

In one of its latest moves, the U.S. government lowered the value threshold for packages sent to individuals required to be handled by customs from $2,500 to $800. Additionally, it removed a duty exemption for small packages shipped from China. It also announced measures against ships built or operated by China.

The Chinese government ordered the suspension of purchases of aircrafts and spare parts manufactured by Boeing. It also halted the export of rare minerals, put restrictions on American movies and filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization.