Global Times: China will launch an immediate, powerful response to US tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, threatening to target US goods on the same scale and intensity, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Friday.
“China does not want to fight a trade war, but in the face of the US’ short-sighted actions that hurt both itself and others, China has to respond powerfully to protect our national interests,” the unidentified spokesperson said in the statement.
The spokesperson said that previous agreements reached in negotiations would be canceled.
The statement came within minutes after the US announced that it would impose a 25 percent duty on Chinese goods worth $50 billion, citing “unfair” trade practices adopted by China.
The US’ move effectively threw away agreements reached in earlier negotiations between Chinese and US officials, who have previously agreed to avoid a potential consequential trade war and to address the trade imbalance between the world’s two largest economies, with China vowing to increase billions of dollars in imports of US agricultural and energy products.
“We regret that the US ignored a consensus reached between the two sides, plays fast and loose and picked up the trade war,” the statement read.
The swift and harsh statement from the Chinese government showed that “[US President Donald Trump] has picked a wrong country for a trade war, said Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, which is affiliated with the MOFCOM.
“Trump’s childish tactics might work with some smaller countries, but it would definitely not work with China,” Mei told the Global Times on Friday, adding that China has both the will and power to fight back.
While the MOFCOM did not provide details as to how China would respond, China previously announced potential tariffs on US goods, including soybeans, aircraft and vehicles worth $50 billion.
In the statement, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged other countries to take joint actions to stop the US’ “outdated and backward” actions to protect the common interests of the world, saying that a trade war is not good for the world.
The US actions not only hurt the two countries’ interests but also disrupt the global trade order and China firmly opposes to such actions, said the foreign ministry statement.
Mei said that China is well positioned to mobilize a global force against the US because “Trump has basically started a trade war with just about every major economy, including the EU.”
