China Rejects Trump’s Tariff Threats On Russian Oil Buyers

Beijing on Wednesday strongly criticized the United States over threats of new tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, after former US President Donald Trump suggested he could raise duties on buyers such as China and India to choke Moscow’s war funding in Ukraine.

During talks with European Union officials on Tuesday, Trump reportedly floated the idea of imposing tariffs of between 50 and 100 percent on Russian oil buyers if the EU agrees to take similar measures, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Reacting to the comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian rejected what he described as Washington’s “economic pressure” tactics.

“We firmly oppose the practice of constantly dragging China into the issue, and we firmly oppose the imposition of so-called economic pressure on China,” Lin said at a press briefing in Beijing.

“China is neither the creator of this crisis nor a party to it,” he added.

Beijing has consistently positioned itself as a neutral player in the Ukraine war, calling for peace talks while avoiding any direct criticism of Russia’s military actions. At the same time, it has accused Western countries of escalating the conflict by supplying weapons to Kyiv.

China and Russia maintain close economic and political ties, with Beijing serving as one of Moscow’s key trading partners. Ahead of China’s upcoming massive military parade, Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Xi Jinping that relations between both nations were at an “unprecedented level.”

The US and EU continue to weigh new economic measures against Moscow in response to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, raising the prospect of further global trade tensions as China pushes back against Western pressure.