But pretty much every country does that. I know the UK does, even Canada does, when they can get away with it. The French do it all the time.
So does the USA.
It is part of jockeying your country slightly ahead of the rest. An accepted and acceptable part of world diplomacy. If we have something the Chinese want, they will reciprocate. If we don’t but they do, as at present, they will try to call the shots.
With all due respect, the last time China ran this sort of trade inbalance with a western nation it was with Britain, and a war started because of it.