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US-China trade war
EconomyChina Economy

China prepared to ‘strike back’, state media says as new tariffs kick in

In the wake of more US tariffs on Chinese goods, Beijing’s media arm keeps up defiant language but adds door is not closed to talks

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US President Donald Trump has raised tariffs on Chinese goods by a cumulative 104 per cent. Photo: Reuters
Frank Chenin Shanghai

China will “strike back and fight to the very end”, the country’s state broadcaster said, as new US tariffs on Chinese goods kicked in at noon on Wednesday, reaffirming Beijing’s determination to play offence amid a rapidly escalating trade war.

China is still willing to discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump, but “definitely not in the way [the US is doing],” according to a post on Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with CCTV.

Trump imposed an additional 50 per cent in import duties after China responded to last week’s increase of 34 per cent with equivalent tariffs on US goods.

“Since the US began to go against the trend and impose tariffs in February, China has adopted more than 20 resolute countermeasures in three rounds,” the account said. “These moves are made to respond to US duties, not out of China’s own volition, and they are reasonable, legitimate and legal.”

Since Trump’s return to the White House in January, Washington has raised tariffs on Chinese goods by a cumulative 104 per cent in several phases.
“The US government is trying to conduct one-on-one bilateral negotiations with various countries, using its advantageous negotiating position to defeat them one by one,” the article said, voicing Beijing’s opposition to Trump’s negotiation tactics.
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