The United States cannot act recklessly and the wheels of history cannot be reversed, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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He said that the involvement of certain major country in unilateral bullying is one of the key factors contributing to the current international landscape marked by turbulence and chaos, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Given that the United States is wielding the tariff stick recently, it is blatantly putting its own interests above the common interests of all countries and ignoring the multilateral trading system and established rules,” Wang added, noting that the international community should not sit by.

Wang said that China, as a responsible member of the international community, stands firm not only to defend its legitimate rights and interests but also to safeguard the common interests of the international community to ensure that humanity is not dragged back into a jungle world where might makes right.

China is willing to take the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (UN) as an opportunity to firmly uphold the international system with UN at its core and the international order based on international law, and work together with other countries to jointly resist all retrogressive actions in the world, Wang said.

Earlier in the day, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that there is no winner in a tariff war, and going against the world will only result in self-isolation.

China also decided to retaliate with additional tariffs on US goods from April 12, taking the total effective rate to 125 per cent. This came a day after US President Donald Trump announced a total of 145 per cent duty on Chinese goods.

Following his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing, Xi said that over the past 70 years and more, China has achieved development through self-reliance and arduous struggle, never relying on others’ mercies, still less fearing any unreasonable suppression.

He added that no matter how the external world changes, China will remain confident and focused on running its own affairs well.