China and the US have so far had no negotiations over their tariffs dispute, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Gao Feng also told a regular press briefing that the measures announced by President Xi Jinping to further open up China's economy at the Boao Forum for Asia on Tuesday were not concessions to address the mounting trade tensions between the two nations.

Instead, he said, the "voluntary pledges" show that China is responsible and is willing to build a high-level and open international economic system with all countries as a result of planned decisions based on its successful experience over the past 40 years, its development and its own needs.

Beijing has also asked the US to be aware of the situation, he said, and not to be headstrong and head into the dark. 

Gao restated China’s firm commitment to protecting its own interests and that of its people. And, he continued, if the US takes other moves to further escalate tensions, Beijing will fight back firmly.

China is willing to negotiate, but the US lacks sincerity, said Gao, adding that it was impossible to negotiate under the current circumstances.

He also stressed that China's strategy to expand its opening-up meets the needs of the country's development, and has no connection to the China-US trade friction.

Responding to questions regarding tariff rates, he said that the World Trade Organization doesn’t require countries to impose the same amount of tariffs. It varies depending on countries’ development, trading policies and results of international negotiations. Take dairy products, for example, the tariff is 95.1 percent in Japan, 37.4 percent in the European Union, 16 percent in the US, while for China, it’s 12 percent.

The US has criticized China, saying its tariffs on vehicles are too high, but in fact, for many types of vehicles, China imposes a lower rate than the US does, Gao pointed out. For example, the tariffs on trucks in the US are 25  percent, while China only levies a 20 percent tax.

(CGTN's Wang Hui contributed to this report.)