China opposes US tariff move, vows retaliatory measures

China "firmly" opposed the US announcement of a 10 percent tariff on Chinese exports, vowing to take countermeasures to safeguard its interests.

“China’s position is firm and consistent. Trade and tariff wars have no winners. The US’s unilateral tariff hikes severely violate WTO (World Trade Organization) rules. This move cannot solve the US's problems at home and more importantly, does not benefit either side, still less the world," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday.

Fentanyl is an issue in the US. In the spirit of "humanity and goodwill," China has supported Washington's response to the issue, according to the statement.

At the US request, China announced in 2019 a decision to officially schedule fentanyl-related substances as a class, according to the statement.

“We are the first country in the world to do so. China has conducted counternarcotics cooperation with the US side in a broad-based way," it said.

The US needs to view and solve its fentanyl issue objectively and rationally instead of threatening others with arbitrary tariff hikes, it maintained.​​​​​​​

“Additional tariffs are not constructive and bound to affect and harm the counternarcotics cooperation between the two sides in the future," it said.

China vows WTO challenge

A spokesperson from the Commerce Ministry also said that Beijing is "strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it."

“The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US seriously violates the rules of the WTO. It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems but also undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US," according to a statement.

China, it added, it would file a lawsuit with the WTO for the "wrong" US practices, and will take "corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests."

"China hopes that the US will objectively and rationally view and deal with its own fentanyl and other issues, rather than threatening other countries with tariffs," it said.

China urged the US to "correct its wrong practices, meet China halfway, face problems, have frank dialogues, strengthen cooperation, and manage differences on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect."