China has warned that it is ready to “fight to the end” with the US in a “tariff war, trade war, or any other war” in response to President Donald Trump’s mounting trade tariffs.
On Tuesday, Trump doubled tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%. China retaliated, imposing a 10-15% tariff on US agricultural products.
The Chinese Embassy in the United States wrote on X,
“If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war we’re ready to fight till the end.”
China has objected to Trump's attempts to link the tariffs to the flow of fentanyl from China to the US. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian said the fentanyl issue was “an excuse” for the US to impose harsh trade measures on China.
When asked on Wednesday to clarify what was meant by “any other war”, Lin said,
“If the US has other intentions and insists on damaging China’s interests, we will fight to the end. We advise the US to put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation as soon as possible.”
This rhetoric has so far been the strongest from China since Trump became president.