China rejects U.S. claims of 'China threat' to Greenland

China blasted the "China threat" narrative and called for safeguarding the international law when commenting on the Greenland issue on Monday.

United States President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he would impose 10 percent tariffs on goods from eight European countries on February 1 amid his push to annex the Arctic island. It would increase to 25 percent if an agreement is not reached by June 1.

Trump, in a social media post Saturday, said "the U.S. needed possession of Greenland to counter Chinese and Russian threats in the Arctic".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that the international law based on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter is the foundation of the existing international order and must be safeguarded.

He also urged the U.S. to stop using the so-called China threat as a pretext to pursue selfish gains.