Vice Premier Liu He, speaking at a forum in Shanghai, labeled the pressures that China is presently facing as an 'inevitable test,' reported by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post and mainland Chinese media outlets.

 

'The external pressure will help us improve innovation and self-development, speed up reform and opening up, and push forward with high-quality growth,' Liu reported.

 

He didn't particularly reference the U.S.-China trade dispute, according to the South China Morning Post. The U.S. has implicated China of stealing trade secrets and forcing American companies to transfer technology. China declares the U.S. is attempting to stifle its economic development.

 

Each country has required higher import duties on billions of dollars of supplies from the other side.

 

Since last month, the U.S. Commerce Department positioned Huawei on a list that effectively bans U.S. firms from selling technology to the Chinese tech giant without government consent. China said this month that it will soon release its own list of 'unreliable entities' comprised of foreign businesses, organizations and individuals.

 

Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng informed reporters Thursday that any foreign company that complies with Chinese laws, market rules and the spirit of contracts will not have to worry about the list.

 

Gao said the U.S. was fraudulent in trade negotiations and went back on its word — something which the U.S. has also accused China of doing.

 

'If the U.S. wants to force China to yield through applying greatest unilateral power, it will probably completely not succeed,' he said.

 

Chinese state media hinted last month that the country's supply of rare earths — exotic minerals used in electric cars, mobile phones and other technology — can be used as a trade weapon. According to data from China's customs administration, rare earths exports were down 16% in May when compared with the previous month.

 

Gao said fluctuations in rare earth exports were the result of changes in the market, and that China has not adopted new measures for managing its rare earths.

 

This article is originally posted on tronserve.com