China warns it is prepared for ‘any type of war’ with US in response to Trump tariffs

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Get our free Inside Washington email

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

China on Wednesday said it was ready to fight "any type" of war with the US in response to president Donald Trump's mounting trade tariffs on imports from Beijing.

The trade war between the two superpowers escalated on Tuesday as Mr Trump hiked his levies on Chinese goods to a total of 20 per cent, and China retaliated by imposing 15 per cent tariffs on American agricultural goods.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, in a post on X, said: "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."

The embassy spokesperson appears to have reiterated the Chinese foreign ministry’s statement, which was issued shortly after Mr Trump's levies took effect.

The foreign ministry claimed China will fight the US "to the bitter end" if the US "persists in waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other kind of war".

Mr Trump has justified the additional tariffs on Chinese goods by blaming Beijing for the fentanyl opioid crisis in the US. He claimed that a “large percentage” of these deadly substances were made in China.

China has accused the White House of “blackmail” over its tariff hike, saying it has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug policies.

Beijing's foreign ministry lashed out, saying: "Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China."

"Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating," it added.

In his address to the joint session of the US Congress, Mr Trump claimed other countries have used tariffs against the US for decades. "Now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada ... and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair," the president said.

"China's average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them," he claimed.

Beijing’s commerce ministry on Tuesday claimed Washington’s “unilateral tax measures seriously violate [World Trade Organisation] WTO rules and undermine the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation”. China last month filed a complaint against the US with the WTO for violating trade rules.

Trade relations between the US and China plunged during Mr Trump’s first presidency after he announced tariffs on Beijing over a massive trade surplus in 2018. The two-year-long trade war sent the world economy into a tizzy as the global supply chain suffered due to tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods.

Trade and diplomatic relations limped back to normalcy during Joe Biden’s administration but have since nosedived following Trump’s tariff salvo.

The US State Department on its website in February after Mr Trump's inauguration said the US works to "deter China’s aggression, combat China’s unfair trade policies, counter China’s malicious cyber activity, end China’s global trafficking of fentanyl precursors ..."