China's ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, called on Washington to seek consensus with Beijing and peaceful coexistence, but also stressed that China is prepared to respond in light of the escalating trade war.

In remarks at a public event in Washington, details of which were posted on the Chinese embassy's website, Xie said that tariffs would devastate the global economy, drawing parallels between the Great Depression and the tariffs imposed by the United States in the 1930s.

Referring to concepts in traditional Chinese medicine, such as the need to balance the opposing forces of yin and yang, Xie said harmony should guide relations between the world's two largest economies.

"Likewise, the world is vast enough to accommodate both China and the United States. We should seek peaceful coexistence rather than head-on collision, and help each other succeed rather than fall into the trap of mutual loss," he continued.

Massive trade between the world's two largest economies has virtually ground to a halt due to the trade war, with tariffs exceeding 100 percent in both directions and a host of trade, investment, and cultural restrictions.

China's largest shipbuilding association on Saturday attacked a US plan to impose port fees on China-bound vessels.

While Japan, Taiwan, and other countries are already in talks or preparing to negotiate with Washington over President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs, there are currently no high-level dialogues scheduled with China.

Trump said Friday that the United States is having particularly good talks with China amid the trade war between the two countries. "By the way, we're having good talks with China. They're, in fact, very good," he told reporters at the White House.

He did not provide any further details. China says the United States must show respect before any talks can take place between the two sides. The Chinese ambassador reiterated his country's opposition to the trade war but indicated that it would respond to any country that imposes tariffs on it.