China's foreign ministry on Friday slammed the United States for threatening to impose an extra 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, calling the move a sign of “Cold War mentality” and promising to retaliate, reported Reuters.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump also threatened that on March 4, an additional 10 per cent duty would be applied to Chinese imports, apart from the 25 per cent tariffs applicable on China, Canada, and Mexico.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also doubled down on allegations of China supplying fentanyl to the US. China's commerce ministry responded by saying that the country had one of the world's strictest anti-drug policies.
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Beijing claimed that Trump was using China to “shift the blame” for the country's fentanyl problem. Further, they warned that such retaliatory tariffs could "seriously impact dialogue" between the two countries and amounted to “blackmail”.
“Pressure, coercion, and threats are not the correct way to deal with China. Mutual respect is the basic premise. The US keeps coercing and threatening China, which will only backfire on itself,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, as quoted by Reuters.
{{/usCountry}}“Pressure, coercion, and threats are not the correct way to deal with China. Mutual respect is the basic premise. The US keeps coercing and threatening China, which will only backfire on itself,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, as quoted by Reuters.
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China's commerce ministry stated that while it would like to hold bilateral talks, it would also take necessary countermeasures to the tariffs if forced to do so.
“If the US insists on proceeding with this course of action, China will take all necessary countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry stated.
The deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics told Reuters, “There's been a lot of motion, but it's still not clear exactly what the Trump administration's fundamental goal is with respect to China.”
While Donald Trump has threatened high tariffs against China since he took office for his second term as US President, in early talks with Chinese premier Xi Jinping, he said they had a “friendly” conversation and had discussed the fentanyl drug issue as well as other fair trade practices.