China is fully prepared and will not hesitate to strike back fiercely if the United States unveils the list of 100-billion-U.S. dollar Chinese products subject to additional tariff hikes, the Ministry of Commerce or MOC said.
"We are not taking any options off the table," Gao Feng, spokesperson with the MOC, said at a press briefing Friday.
The remarks came after the U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to slap tariffs on 100 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China.
Calling the move "unreasonable" and "extremely wrong," Gao said the U.S. side has misjudged the situation and will only "shoot itself in its foot."
Gao also clarified that there have been no talks over economic and trade issues between Chinese and U.S. economic officials recently.
"We have noticed that many U.S. officials have hinted that the two sides are in talks, but that is not the real case," he said.
China is ready for further escalation by the U.S. side and has prepared detailed countermeasures, according to Gao.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Trade Representative office proposed imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on 50 billion dollars worth of imports from China, which drew strong opposition from business groups.
The date of implementation will depend on when the U.S. government imposes the tariffs on Chinese products, according to the Ministry of Finance.
China on Thursday filed a request for consultation under the World Trade Organization dispute settlement framework with the United States regarding the US Section 232 measures that slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the Ministry of Commerce said.
Despite worldwide objection, the US administration decided last month to impose a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum imports from countries including China after the its Department of Commerce launched the Section 232 investigation into these imports.
(Source:Jiangsu International Channel)
