China vows to fight ‘to the end’ as it raises tariffs on US$60 billion of US goods in trade war escalation
- Ministry of Finance says the move, with duties to rise to ‘25, 20 and 10 per cent’, is a response to ‘unilateralism and trade protectionism’
- Announcement follows US President Donald Trump’s warning that Beijing should not retaliate for US tariff increases
Beijing will fight “to the end” in the trade war, the country’s state broadcaster said on Monday, just before China announced that it would raise duties on US$60 billion of American goods on June 1.
Disregarding warnings issued by US President Donald Trump, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said tariffs on thousands of US products will rise to as high as 25 per cent, from the original 10 per cent, in the latest escalation of the battle between the world’s two biggest economies.
Among those hit by the highest tariffs are a wide range of food products – including cooking oils, frozen vegetables, wine, beer and other beverages – industrial minerals and chemicals, textiles and clothing, jewellery, metal products, machinery parts, and consumer items ranging from home appliances to condoms.
The statement came days after the US raised tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 per cent from 10 per cent, and talks failed to resolve the trade fight. The Chinese Finance Ministry accused the raised US tariffs of “leading to the escalation of trade frictions between China and the US”.
China’s move to escalate the tariffs also followed a series of posts by Trump on Twitter on Monday morning saying China should not retaliate.
Over the weekend, he accused China of playing for time in trade talks and warned he would offer a “far worse” deal if he wins re-election in 2020.
China’s new retaliatory tariffs on US$60 billion US products will be imposed at four different levels: 25 per cent tariffs on 2,493 items of goods, 20 per cent on 1,078 items, 10 per cent on 974 items and 5 per cent on 595 items.
Trump warns China to reach a trade deal now, or face a ‘far worse’ one
The tariffs came just days after a Chinese delegation led by Vice-Premier Liu He failed to reach a deal with its US counterparts in Washington to end the months-long trade war. The talks ended abruptly on noon Friday.
The Chinese Finance Ministry said the move was “a response to unilateralism and trade protectionism”.
“China hopes the United States will return to the right track of bilateral trade negotiations, work together with China and meet China halfway to reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality,” the ministry said in a statement released just as trade started on US stock markets.
Trump’s series of tweets included admonitions that China should not retaliate.
‘Many Tariffed companies will be leaving China for Vietnam and other such countries in Asia. That’s why China wants to make a deal so badly!,” he wrote.
“There will be nobody left in China to do business with. Very bad for China, very good for USA! But China has taken so advantage of the U.S. for so many years, that they are way ahead (Our Presidents did not do the job). Therefore, China should not retaliate - will only get worse!” he said.
Shortly before the Chinese finance ministry announced the new tariffs, China’s state broadcaster CCTV aired a warning shot on the trade war during the country’s most watched daily news program, Xinwen Lianbo.
“China has already given its answer (to the US): if you want to talk, our door is wide open; if you want to fight, we'll fight you to the end,” an anchor read.
The fiery defiance struck a chord with many nationalists on China’s social media, where clips of the commentary were shared like wildfire following the announcement of the tariffs.
“Listening to this makes my blood boil,” said one of the most liked comments on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform.
“This is how the great powers do it,” read another.
Still, the door to dialogue isn’t shut completely.