U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of violating a deal to resist tariffs and trade restrictions on key minerals because he believes China is in "serious economic danger" until he agreed to sign the contract earlier this month.
Trump said on Friday night, when he posted his truth social platform that he had reached a "fast deal" with China, where both countries could withdraw from triple-digit tariffs for 90 days to "save" Beijing's "very bad situation."
The U.S. leader said his tariffs on Chinese imports were as high as 145%, making it "nearly impossible" for China to trade with the U.S. market, resulting in closed factories and "civil strife" in the country.
"For some people, China may not be surprising, it completely violates our consent. It is so important to be a good man!" Trump added.
Trump has not specified in his post how China violated the agreement - trade talks were held in Geneva, Switzerland in mid-May, or what action he planned to take to accuse them of failing to comply with its terms.
"I'm sure I'll talk to Xi Jinping (Jinping) and hope we'll fix this," Trump said when asked about China's deal in the Oval Office late Friday.
Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters that China's failure to fulfill its obligations "opens up various actions for the United States to ensure future compliance actions."
Miller added that Trump hopes China will open “for a long time” in a way that it opens to China with the U.S. business.
China's embassy in Washington said Beijing has maintained communication with its U.S. counterparts since the Geneva negotiations, but said they are concerned about the recently imposed U.S. export controls.
"China has repeatedly attracted U.S. attention to the abuse of export control measures in the semiconductor sector and other related practices," Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in a statement.
Liu added: "China once again urges the United States to correct its wrong actions immediately, stop discriminatory restrictions on China, and jointly maintain the consensus reached during the senior talks in Geneva."
Earlier this week, media reported that the Trump administration had ordered U.S. companies to provide software for designing semiconductors to stop selling their services to Chinese groups.
A U.S. Department of Commerce spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that it is reviewing exports of strategic significance to China, “in some cases…the suspension of existing export licenses or other licensing requirements are imposed during review review review.”
On Friday, shortly after bemoaning China's lack of the Geneva Agreement, President Trump also announced plans to increase tariffs on steel imports to 25% to 50% from June 4.
The agreement two weeks ago allocated 90 days, prompting a massive rally in global stocks as it effectively lowered U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods from 25% in early April.
As part of the deal, China also agreed to raise trade countermeasures that limit exports of key metals needed for U.S. semiconductor, electronics and defense industries.
But Trump administration officials have publicly stated that China has been slow to stick to its Geneva commitments and has failed to comply so far.
Reuters also reported on Friday that global auto executives forced auto factories to close within weeks amid an imminent shortage of rare earth magnets in China.
“Without reliable access to these elements and magnets, automotive suppliers will not be able to produce critical automotive components including automatic transmissions, throttles, ACs, various motors, various motors, sensors, seat belts, speakers, speakers, lights, motors, power steering and cameras,” said the auto supplier.