In a short video titled "Never Kneel Down!" posted by the ministry on Tuesday, a narrator speaks over a series images including swirling clouds, saying the U.S. has stirred up a "global tariff storm," targeting Beijing by playing a "90-day pause game" with other countries and forcing them to limit trade with China.

The Philippines said on Monday there was no truth to news reports that Beijing has seized control of a disputed reef in the South China Sea, after its personnel landed on the unoccupied sandbars and found no Chinese presence there.