China defends BRICS after Trump threatens new tariffs
China has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's recent threat of a new 10% tariff on countries associated with BRICS.
Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Monday that BRICS does not seek confrontation or target any country, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Trump said in a July 6 post on Truth Social that the additional levy would hit any country "aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS," an economic group of developing countries. He said there would be no exceptions.
"BRICS is an important platform for cooperation among emerging markets in developing countries," she stated.
"It advocates openness, inclusiveness, and willing cooperation. It is not a bloc for confrontation, nor does it target any country.
"On the U.S. tariff hikes, China has made its position clear more than once. Trade wars and tariff wars have no winners, and protectionism leads nowhere."
Trump had also said he would begin sending out tariff letters or announcing trade deals on July 7, as his 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs nears its conclusion.
China and the U.S. recently came to an agreement on trade that saw Washington loosen some of its restrictions and Beijing accelerate rare earth exports.
At their summit, the BRICS bloc condemned the increase in tariffs and attacks on Iran, but refrained from naming Trump.
The group's declaration, which also took aim at Israel's military actions in the Middle East, also spared Russia from criticism, and mentioned war-torn Ukraine just once.
The two-day summit was marked by the absences of two of its most powerful members.
China's President Xi Jinping did not attend a BRICS summit for the first time since he became his country's leader in 2012.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke via videoconference, continues to mostly avoid traveling abroad due to an international arrest warrant issued after Russia invaded Ukraine.
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