(Bloomberg) -- China said the next move in trade talks must come from the U.S., days after President Donald Trump said he’s in no hurry to make a deal.
"The U.S. keeps escalating the trade tensions, and makes various tricks, which has severely hurt the trade talks," Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng said in Beijing. "Whether the China-U.S. trade talks can make any progress largely hinges on the U.S. attitude and sincerity."
Wrong U.S. actions damaged the talks and forced China to retaliate, Gao said. China hopes the U.S. corrects its mistakes, but will fight to the end if the U.S. keeps escalating tensions, he said on Thursday.
Since the collapse of talks earlier this month, the dispute between the two nations has worsened, with the U.S. restricting access to high-tech products and China threatening to cut off exports of rare earth products which are necessary for industry.
In response to a question on whether China would use its dominant position in rare earths to retaliate, Gao repeated a previous government statement that while China would prioritize domestic demand, it was willing to meet "the legitimate needs" of the rest of the world.
"However, if any country wants to use products made using China’s rare earth exports to contain and crack down on China’s development, that can’t be accepted emotionally and rationally," he added.
When asked if China would retaliate against Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). and other American companies doing business in China, Gao said that China would protect the legitimate rights of foreign businesses, without elaborating.
The comments come after another Chinese official accused the U.S. of "economic terrorism."
"We firmly oppose the willful use the sticks of tariff and protectionism," Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Hanhui said earlier in the day. "Deliberately provoking trade disputes is economic terrorism, economic hegemony and economic chauvinism.
(Updates with Gao’s comments on rare earths and retaliation from fifth paragraph.)