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China’s top diplomat warned countries against caving in to US tariff threats, as the Trump administration hints at the possible use of new trade tools to pressure Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said appeasement will only embolden the “bully” at a BRICS meeting on Monday, rallying the group of emerging-market nations to fight back against US levies. The stern remarks show China intends to resist pressure to enter trade talks even as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggests Washington could ban certain exports to China to gain leverage.

“The US, which has long benefited enormously from free trade, is now going so far as to use tariffs as a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from all countries,” Wang said at the gathering of senior diplomats in Brazil. “If one chooses to remain silent, compromise and cower, it will only make the bully want to push his luck more.”

To drive the point home, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday released a video — with bilingual subtitles — vowing that Beijing won’t budge, claiming it’s also for the good of the world.

“China won’t kneel down,” the narrator said. “Because we know standing up for ourselves keeps the possibility of cooperation alive, while compromise snuffs it out.”

The offshore yuan gained 0.2% to reach the strongest level in over three weeks after the Chinese central bank strengthened the fixing on Tuesday. Chinese stocks in Hong Kong rose as much as 1.1%, while onshore shares traded slightly lower.

Wang’s call to the international community underscores China’s attempt to portray itself as the bastion of free trade as US tariffs threaten to reshape commerce globally. Beijing has repeatedly urged allies to defend multilateralism and told other governments not to cut deals with the US president at China’s expense.

The Chinese “want to show resolve because I think they believe that showing weakness is playing a losing card,” said Dylan Loh, assistant professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “But that does not mean they won’t want to cut a deal or create off ramps.”

Washington has insisted the ball is in Beijing’s court to de-escalate. Bessent said Monday that the US has an “escalation ladder” and claimed it’s “anxious not to have to use it,” reflecting the administration’s growing urgency to bring China to the negotiating table.

“That the Chinese are exempting all these goods tells me that they want a de-escalation,” he said in an interview with CNBC, citing Beijing’s reported move to suspend 125% tariffs on US imports including medical equipment, plane leases and at least eight semiconductor-related products.

“What we haven’t done is escalate by embargoing those goods or putting a trade ban on those goods, which we could if we needed to, to gain more leverage,” Bessent added.

China has repeatedly denied being engaged in trade talks with the US. Instead, Beijing has demanded mutual respect and a cancellation of all tariffs before any negotiations.

Beijing is also seeking to Trump-proof its economy by propping up its exporters and stimulating consumption. Nomura Holdings Inc. economists wrote in a note Tuesday that the US tariffs could result in a loss of as many as 15.8 million jobs. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said makers of communication equipment, apparel and chemical products are particularly vulnerable due to how much they’re shipped to the US.

Chinese officials on Monday vowed to provide more support for exporters affected by US tariffs, including ensuring troubled firms get the loans they need. They also vowed to free up more cash for banks and cut interest rates at an appropriate time to aid growth, a third of which counted on the export sector last year.

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