BEIJING, March 13. /TASS/. Talks between Beijing and Washington on trade issues should be mutually beneficial, while China considers threats and coercion unacceptable, the Ministry of Commerce of China said in a statement.

"Any form of communication and consultations should be based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, while threats and coercion will only backfire. We hope that the US and China will be working together in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation and get back on track of solving issues through dialogue and consultations," the statement reads.

The ministry added that it keeps in contact with respective competent authorities of the US on trade issues.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to increase additional tariffs on Chinese imports from 10% to 20% due to the fact that Beijing is allegedly not sufficiently decisive in preventing the supply of fentanyl to the US. China imposed additional tariffs in the amount of 10-15% on US agriculture products in response to Trump’s tariff policy.