China pushed back earlier Monday against U.S. accusations that it had violated the Geneva trade agreement, as a war of words between the two economic powerhouses erupted, suggesting that trade negotiations were struggling.

China said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s accusations that Beijing had violated the consensus reached in Geneva trade talks were "groundless", and promised to take forceful measures to safeguard its interests.

The comment by the commerce ministry was in response to Trump’s remarks on Friday that China had breached a bilateral deal to roll back tariffs.

This followed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating late last week that trade talks with Beijing had stalled.

Beijing and Washington agreed in mid-May in Geneva to pause triple-digit tariffs for 90 days. In addition, China also promised to lift trade countermeasures that restricted its exports of the critical metals needed for U.S. semiconductor, electronics and defence production.

Trump on Friday also said he will hike his tariffs on steel imports to 50% from 25%, effective from June 4. 

Separately, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said over the weekend that Trump’s tariffs were here to stay, especially in the face of a legal challenge.

A federal trade court had last week ruled to block a bulk of Trump’s tariff agenda, although they were swiftly reinstated by an appeals court. The case is expected to reach the Supreme Court, although Trump warned that he will proceed with his tariffs using other mechanisms.