China has blamed increasing trade frictions with the United States on the US side, saying Washington started the tariff battle.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters on Wednesday that the United States had waged a trade war arbitrarily.
He added that despite China's sincere negotiation efforts, the US is readying additional tariffs, a move that goes against mutual understanding.
The spokesperson noted that the international community knows who started the bad example of tariff battle, breaks free trade rules and poses a risk to the global economy.
He said China hopes the US will acknowledge the current situation, return to a normal track and make concessions.
His remarks came as the US administration began procedures to impose higher tariffs on almost all Chinese goods.
Since ministerial-level trade talks with the United States failed to produce a result earlier this month, Chinese media have been intensifying criticism against US efforts to ramp up pressure on Beijing.
NHK
