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On Donald Trump's tariff threat, China says ‘willing to work with US’ for stable ties
China's commerce ministry's remarks came a day after its foreign ministry said that it would protect its 'national interests' after Trump's tariff threats.
China's commerce ministry on Thursday reacted to US President's Donald Trump's threat of imposing 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods from February 1, saying that these measures "are not good for China, US, and the entire world".
The ministry's spokesperson, He Yadong, asserted China's willingness to work with Washington to "promote stable, healthy development of economic and trade ties", Reuters reported.
The remarks come just a day after a spokesperson from China's foreign ministry said that Beijing would protect its "national interests" in the backdrop of Trump's move on tariff imposition.
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"We have always believed that there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war," spokesperson Mao Ning said, adding that China was "firmly committed to safeguarding national interests".
Newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, at a press conference at the White House, had said that he was considering to impose 10 per cent on Chinese imports from February 1 to curb the flow of fentanyl entering the US via Mexico and Canada.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) also backed Trump's claims, identifying the global fentanyl supply chain's starting point from "chemical companies based in China". The DEA said that highly addictive opioid, fentanyl, was one of the biggest drug threats in America.
Additionally, Trump said that he was also thinking of imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigrants and drug trafficking from entering the States.
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"We're thinking in terms of 25 percent on Mexico and Canada, because they're allowing vast numbers of people -- Canada's a very bad abuser also -- vast numbers of people to come in, and fentanyl to come in," he said in the Oval Office on his first day while signing a slew of executive orders.
The US President also called for a review of Washington's trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
Meanwhile, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had firmly reacted to Trump's tariff threat, saying that Ottawa "is willing to inflict economic pain on the US to get Trump to back down".
Trudeau had said that his country will respond to the US with very strong retaliatory measures if Trump goes ahead with the tariff imposition.
(with inputs from Reuters)
