China said it “firmly rejects” US claims that it violated the agreement to reduce heavy tariffs between the world's two largest economies, AFP reported.

Last month, Beijing and Washington agreed to temporarily reduce extremely high tariffs between them for 90 days following negotiations between senior officials in Geneva.

But US Commerce Secretary Howard Lute said in comments to Fox News that Beijing was “delaying the agreement.”

Beijing responded by saying that Washington “has made false accusations and unjustifiably accused China of violating the consensus, which is in serious contradiction with the facts.”

“China firmly rejects these groundless accusations,” the Ministry of Commerce said.

US President Donald Trump wrote last week that China had “completely violated” the agreement, without giving details.

The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing said it was “firmly committed to protecting its rights and interests and was sincere in implementing the consensus.”

Washington “has consistently introduced a series of discriminatory restrictive measures against China,” the ministry said, citing controls on exports of artificial intelligence chips and the cancellation of visas for Chinese students in the US.

“We call on the US to reach consensus with China, immediately correct its wrongdoings, and jointly abide by the consensus reached in the trade negotiations in Geneva,” the ministry added.

Otherwise, “China will continue to take resolute measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” it added. | BGNES