US-Chinese Agreements to Have No Binding Force, If US Imposes Tariffs - Beijing

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The agreements reached between the United States and China will become void, if Washington imposes the tariffs and other trade barriers, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Sunday.

"If the US side imposes trade restrictions, including high tariffs, then all trade agreements reached as result of talks will have no binding force," the statement read.

The statement was made in the light of the yet another round of US-Chinese trade talks, which began on Saturday and continued through Sunday.

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Last week the White House issued a statement saying that the United States will impose a 25-percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China, which contain "industrially significant technology." According to Washington, the final list of imports would be revealed by June 15. Also, by the end of June, the US is expected to unveil the list of investment restrictions and export controls related to Chinese industrial technology.

These steps came amid the trade tensions between the countries, which escalated in the last few months, as the US President Donald Trump threatened to slap steep tariffs on Chinese exports to the US for allegedly stealing trade secrets. He also noted it's crucial to reduce Washington's massive trade imbalance with China. In response, Beijing vowed to retaliate against US exports to China with a matching value.