China has refuted accusations from the Trump administration that it violated the trade agreement, countering that the U.S. has undermined the consensus reached in the deal. The dispute has heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies beyond just trade matters. Following a meeting in Geneva between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng, which led to a temporary suspension of most tariffs for 90 days, tensions have flared.
The Trump administration has increased tech export restrictions and announced the revocation of visas for Chinese students, actions that have drawn ire from Beijing. China’s commerce department alleged that these steps “seriously undermine” the agreement and warned that it would take necessary measures to protect its rights and benefits if the U.S. continued to act against China’s interests. “Beijing is comfortable taking an extremely firm stance in these negotiations and sees no reason to roll over,” said Stephen Olson, a visiting senior fellow at the Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
He added that any deal with the U.S. would be seen as a temporary measure, not a long-term solution. President Donald Trump accused China last week of violating the preliminary trade agreement, expressing frustration over what he perceived as China’s slow movement on easing rare earth exports. Bert Hofman, a professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, suggested Trump was reacting to these frustrations, which he saw as conflicting with the agreement.
China counters Trump’s trade accusations
China’s commerce ministry refuted these accusations, stating that Beijing had “strictly implemented and actively upheld” the agreements and had taken steps to cancel and suspend certain tariffs and non-tariff measures in response to Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. In an interview last week, Bessent indicated a need for direct communication between the leaders of the two countries to resolve the issues.
Dennis Wilder, a former senior White House intelligence official, attributed the deteriorating relations to a lack of coordination across U.S. government agencies, suggesting that Bessent might not have been involved in major policy decisions like the chip export curbs and student visa revocations. The National Security Committee, which is responsible for coordinating inter-agency government work, is reportedly in turmoil as Trump has announced plans to reduce its size. Wilder emphasized the need for a call between Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, to bring coherence to U.S. policies.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, highlighted the “real” and “imminent” threat from China in the Indo-Pacific, urging allied nations to increase defense spending to counter Beijing’s growing military pressure. In response, China’s embassy in Singapore accused the U.S. of being the biggest “troublemaker” for regional peace and stability, while a spokesperson for China’s defense ministry condemned the U.S. for “instigating cold-war mentality” and challenging China’s sovereignty. The growing strain in U.S.-China relations, encompassing both economic and military dimensions, suggests that prospects for immediate high-level talks between the two nations remain slim.
Experts note that while the U.S. appears eager for a Trump-Xi meeting, such an engagement is unlikely unless significant progress is made at lower levels of negotiation.
