China refuses to answer phone call from the U.S. amid tariff escalation

The announcement of export control measures by Beijing took Washington by surprise, and upon learning the news from public sources, the US government tried to contact its Chinese counterparts, but the Asian giant rejected the call. “I can tell you that we were not notified and, as soon as we found out from public sources, we contacted the Chinese to have a phone conversation, but they postponed it,” declared U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to Fox News.

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“In recent days, I think it has become very clear to everyone that this usurpation of power by the Chinese will not be tolerated. Therefore, I believe that some of these messages have indicated that they understand that this is a serious matter“, Greer affirmed, commenting on the recent comments from the Ministry of Commerce of the Asian country. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said at a press conference on Sunday that, before the announcement of these measures, Beijing “had already notified relevant countries and regions through bilateral export control dialogue mechanisms.” He specified that this control measure does not equate to an export ban. “It is evident that the Chinese have realized that they have far exceeded the limits of what is acceptable,” Greer commented on the matter. The Chinese spokesperson recalled that threatening with tariffs “is not the right way to get along” with his country and that the Americans themselves have long been “overextending the concept of national security, abusing export controls, taking discriminatory measures against China and imposing unilateral measures of long-range jurisdiction on various products, including semiconductor equipment and chips”. “The U.S. Commerce Control List (CCL) covers more than 3,000 items, while China’s Export Control List of Dual-Use Items only covers about 900,” he pointed out.