China accuses the U.S. of “unilateral bullying” over calls to impose tariffs on Russia

China came out swinging on Monday, accusing the United States of using “unilateral bullying” to force allies into slapping tariffs on Chinese goods over its oil dealings with Russia.

The statement was made while Chinese and American officials were locked in trade negotiations in Madrid, trying for the fourth time in four months to cool off a worsening economic feud.

According to Reuters, China’s commerce ministry described Washington’s latest move as “a classic example of economic coercion,” urging the U.S. to drop the pressure and handle disputes through equal dialogue.

Beijing’s anger was triggered by the U.S. lobbying the G7 and NATO to back secondary tariffs on Chinese imports. The White House claims China’s ongoing oil purchases from Russia are helping Moscow sidestep global sanctions.

But China has made it clear that it doesn’t intend to follow U.S.-led sanctions, and it’s not going to stop buying Russian oil. The back-and-forth came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began day two of closed-door meetings inside Spain’s Palacio de Santa Cruz.

Talks on TikTok ownership reach tentative deal

While trade tensions exploded, another major issue, TikTok, saw progress. Bessent confirmed that U.S. and Chinese officials had agreed on a framework to transfer ownership of the app’s U.S. business to an American-controlled entity.

Final confirmation is expected during a call between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping on Friday. Bessent said the looming September 17 deadline forced negotiators to move quickly, but he also mentioned the timeline might be extended another 90 days to finalize details.

He explained that both sides approached TikTok from completely different angles. “They’re interested in Chinese characteristics of the app, which they think are soft power,” Bessent said. “We don’t care about Chinese characteristics. We care about national security.”

The earlier version of this deal, announced in March, didn’t go anywhere. This time, both delegations seem more serious. The U.S. Congress had already passed a law in 2024 demanding TikTok be sold or shut down entirely, citing surveillance risks and data exposure to Beijing.

Trump, who credits TikTok for helping him win re-election, has 15 million followers on the app and doesn’t want it banned.

“A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy! I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, the White House recently launched its own official TikTok account to expand messaging on the platform.

Chip tensions flare as China targets Nvidia

The same day trade talks continued, China’s market regulator launched an antitrust investigation into U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, saying early findings showed it violated anti-monopoly laws. Bessent called the timing “poor” but didn’t comment further.

The decision is widely viewed as payback for Washington’s decision to restrict chip and semiconductor exports to China, part of the growing tech war between the two governments.

Wang Jingtao, an official with China’s cyberspace watchdog, confirmed that the proposed TikTok deal could include licensing agreements for intellectual property, including TikTok’s underlying algorithms.

However, it’s still unclear whether ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, will hand over control of the platform’s full tech stack.

Li Chenggang, China’s chief trade negotiator, said U.S. security arguments were just more “unilateral bullying” and hinted that China would only move forward with TikTok divestment if Washington made concessions on tech and trade restrictions.

Scott confirmed that China had come to the table with “a very aggressive ask,” but stressed the U.S. wouldn’t compromise national security just to keep a social media app running.

Negotiators from both countries have been meeting in European capitals since May, trying to stop the constant escalation of tariffs and halt the blockage of rare earth exports. Jamieson Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative, said the TikTok agreement showed both countries were at least willing to engage seriously. 

“It’s no secret that there are serious issues on trade, economics, and national security between the United States and China. To be able to come, sit down, quickly identify the issues, narrow them down to a very granular spot, and be able to come to a conclusion, subject to the leaders’ approval, I mean, that is remarkable,” Greer said.

As of now, the Trump–Xi phone call scheduled for Friday is expected to lock in the TikTok ownership terms and possibly push forward other pending issues. China wants tech restrictions rolled back, while the U.S. continues to push allies to punish Beijing economically for its ties to Russia. Bessent said the Russia issue was only “briefly discussed,” but made it clear the White House isn’t backing down.

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