China urges U.S. to abandon excessive use of national security concept

China has urged the United States to abandon its generalized and excessive use of the national security concept and collaborate with all parties in maintaining a rules-based multilateral trading system, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

At a regular press conference, He Yongqian, spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks when asked to comment on the U.S. decision to raise tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and their derivative products from 25 percent to 50 percent.

He said that such U.S. moves not only harm others and itself but will also severely disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

The United States should abandon the zero-sum mentality, address respective concerns through equal dialogue, and jointly maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains, He said.

Commenting on the new restrictions on China imposed by the United States after the China-U.S. economic and trade talks in Geneva in May, the spokesperson said that China had earnestly fulfilled its obligations and upheld the consensus reached during the talks.

However, the United States has imposed a series of new restrictions on China, blatantly undermining the consensus and grossly harming China’s legitimate rights and interests, He noted, adding that China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this and demands that the U.S. side stop immediately.

“Should the United States persist, China will resolutely take effective measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” He said.

The spokesperson also stressed that China’s stance against the U.S. Section 301 tariffs is clear and consistent, noting that the costs of these tariffs ultimately fall on U.S. businesses and consumers.

China urges the United States to completely revoke its Section 301 tariffs and other restrictions on China to promote healthy, stable and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, He said.