China says can't hold US trade talks with 'knife to the throat'

China said on Tuesday that it was impossible to hold trade talks with the United States while Washington is imposing tariffs that are like "holding a knife to someone's throat".

Speaking a day after the United States activated tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen told reporters: "Now that the US has adopted this type of large-scale trade restrictions, they're holding a knife to someone's throat.