US-China trade war: Beijing vows to hit back if Trump imposes new tariffs on US$200 billion of its goods

China will take countermeasures if the United States imposes tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese products, Beijing said on Thursday, repeating its tough stance in the trade war despite the growing impact it is having on its own economy.

“If the US takes new trade measures against China … China will take necessary countermeasures,” commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular press conference.

“Any measures pressuring China [to yield] will be ineffective, as the trade war can’t solve any problems.”

Gao’s comments came in response to the possibility of the US imposing tariffs on an additional US$200 billion worth of goods it imports from China as early as this week. US President Donald Trump said last week that he wanted to take action as soon as the public comment period on the proposed sanctions concluded. That deadline passed on Thursday.

If Washington does levy the new 25 per cent tariffs – on goods ranging from selfie sticks to semiconductors – it would mark a significant escalation in the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.

China and the US levied initial 25 per cent tariffs on US$34 billion worth of each other’s products on July 6, and those were extended to a further US$16 billion of goods at the end of last month.