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China has accused the United States of “spreading disinformation” amid both sides accusing each other of violating a recent trade agreement reached in Geneva that aimed to ease tensions by reducing tariffs on each other’s goods.
Some shit you should know before you read: Back in May, the United States and China reached a provisional trade agreement during high-level talks in Geneva aimed at de-escalating growing economic tensions between the two global powers. Under the terms of the deal, both countries committed to a 90-day tariff reduction period in which the US agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China agreed to cut its duties on American goods from 125% to 10%. The agreement included specific provisions for China to release key exports (particularly rare earth minerals) critical to the US high-tech and defense industries. Both parties also pledged to refrain from implementing new trade barriers or coercive measures during the truce period, setting the stage for further negotiations aimed at a longer-term resolution.
What’s going on now: For a second day, China has again pushed back against US claims of non-compliance with their recent trade agreement, accusing the US of “spreading disinformation” and taking “extreme suppression measures” that violate the spirit and terms of the Geneva consensus. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, “Without any factual ground, the US falsely accuses China of violating the Geneva consensus, and has issued harmful extreme measures against China such as new chip export controls, blocking EDA sales, and pledging to revoke Chinese students’ visas. Those actions have seriously disrupted the Geneva consensus and hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests. China firmly opposes them and has strongly protested to the US. Let us stress once again that pressuring and coercion are not the right way to engage China. We call on the US to respect the facts, stop spreading disinformation, reverse the wrongdoings, and act to uphold the consensus.”
On the other hand, the United States has leveled its own accusations at China, claiming that the Chinese are withholding critical exports (mainly rare earth minerals) that were part of the trade deal. President Donald Trump escalated the rhetoric, stating on social media that China had “totally violated its agreement with us” and suggesting that his administration had only made the deal to prevent a collapse of China’s economy.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also commented on the matter, telling CBS that China is “withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement—maybe it’s a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it’s intentional.”
This comes as the White House has confirmed that President Trump and President Xi will likely speak later this week.
