China summoned Walmart Inc. executives on Tuesday to express its concern, after the US retailer reportedly urged its mainland suppliers to absorb increased American trade tariffs.Such a demand would potentially break the supply chain,

Suppliers' margins are already razor thin due to Walmart procuring goods cheaply in order to maintain its competitive advantage.

Beijing has summoned Walmart for reportedly asking Chinese suppliers to swallow the tariff hikes imposed by the Trump administration, marking the latest salvo in the trade spat between the world’s two largest economies.

Chinese and American companies should “work together” to respond to U.S. “unilateral imposition of tariffs,” Chinese state media said.