BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Tuesday that there are no winners in a trade war after US President Donald Trump threatened to hit buyers of Russian exports with sanctions unless Russia agrees to a peace deal in 50 days.
"There are no winners in trade wars, and coercion and pressure will not solve the problem either. We hope all parties will work to foster an environment and build the conditions necessary for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and do more to encourage peace and promote talks," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing.
The Kremlin has so far not commented on Trump's remarks but said on Monday it was clear that the United States had continued to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.
China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian crude. Trump told the BBC that he was "not done" with Putin and that he thought a Ukraine peace deal was on the cards.
'WEAPONISATION' OF TECH & TRADE
China said that it opposed the politicisation and weaponisation of technology and trade issues after Nvidia announced plans to resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, days after its CEO, who is visiting Beijing, met President Trump.
"We generally refrain from making specific comments about the behaviour of companies. I would like to point out that China opposes the politicisation, instrumentalisation, and weaponisation of technology and trade issues, as well as the malicious blockade and suppression of China,” Lin said.
Nvidia's AI chips have been a key focus of US export controls designed to keep the most advanced chips out of Chinese hands amid national security concerns, restrictions that the US-listed company said would cut its revenue by $15 billion.
Nvidia, which has criticised the export restrictions the Trump administration imposed in April that stopped it from selling its H20 chip in China, said it has introduced a new model tailored to meet regulatory rules in the Chinese market.