Beijing, China - China slammed the US for its "rampant" protectionism and said that President Donald Trump's administration was using its trade war to undermine agricultural cooperation with Beijing.

Beijing's ambassador to Washington slammed the US trade war, declaring that farmers on both sides of the Pacific couldn't afford Trump's tariffs.

Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff regime has seen levies go as high as 145% since April, triggering a huge response from China, which has since slapped its own tariffs on the US.

In particular, Beijing targeted the American agricultural sector, which exports a huge amount of almonds, soybeans, beef, pork, and dairy to Asia, with a devastating 15% levy.

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As a result of the trade war, agricultural exports to China fell by 53% in the first half of 2025, when compared to the same period in 2024. This decline comes on top of a 14% and 20% drop in 2024 and 2023 respectively.

"It goes without saying that protectionism is rampant, casting a shadow over China-US agricultural cooperation," said Xie Feng, China's Ambassador to Washington, on Saturday.

"American farmers, like their Chinese counterparts, are hardworking and humble," Xie said, according to a transcript released by the Chinese embassy.

"Agriculture should not be hijacked by politics, and farmers should not be made to pay the price of a trade war."

"China and the US should continue coexisting in peace on this planet, and work together to get more big, practical, and good things done," Xie said.

Last month, US Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins banned Chinese investors from purchasing US farmland and called them "foreign adversaries" that pose a "massive threat" to national security.

"We see it again and again, from Chinese Communist acquisition of American farmland to criminal exploitation of our system of agriculture," Rollins said.