On Monday 7th of July, China addressed the growing tensions between the United States and the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, caused by the threats of tariff increments against the BRICS nations.
This statement came after US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on countries that side with the BRICS nations on his social media platform, claiming that they were promoting Anti-American propaganda.
China has since clarified that the BRICS alliance is not trying to confront any country but instead serves as a platform for cooperation among emerging and developing economies.
The Chinese foreign ministry expressed concern about the impact of trade conflicts and warned that tariff wars do not benefit anyone involved.
They pointed out that measures such as the extra tariffs threatened by the US, would likely lead to retaliatory actions from China, and would harm all parties concerned.
Trump had said he would start sending tariff warning letters to several countries by Monday, just days before the deadline for trade agreements with the US expires.
These letters threaten to raise import taxes back to higher levels set earlier this year if no alternative agreements are reached.
BRICS, originally created around twenty years ago to bring together fast-growing economies, has increasingly been viewed as a challenge to the influence of the United States and Western Europe.
China and other countries have however described BRICS as a group that promotes cooperation and room for third world countries to grow, without targeting any particular country or seeking to create rival alliances.