China called on the US not to use the threat of tariffs as a weapon after President Donald Trump threatened to introduce additional tariffs on Chinese imports because of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.

Tariffs, in general, hurt all parties involved, Chinese MFA spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

“So the United States should stop thinking it can use tariffs as a weapon and a big stick to coerce other countries,” she said.

Trump said earlier that he considers it possible to increase tariffs on Chinese imports amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chunying urged the US not to try to divert attention from their mismanagement of COVID-19 pandemic by shifting blame onto China. 

“What has the U.S. done in the past few months? How did it allow the outbreak to develop to the stage today? Is this how a government should be responsible to its people?” she asked. “The most urgent task is to control the outbreak in the U.S. and to save as many lives as possible ... Saving lives should take precedence over political self-interest,” she said.

According to her, China has taken swift action such as notifying the WHO and countries including the US about the coronavirus on January 3.

Hua said accusations that China deliberately spread the virus were baseless.