China to take countermeasures on U.S. tariff action

China will take necessary countermeasures depending on the U.S. tariff action, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Thursday.

The statement was made in response to the possible imposition of additional tariffs by the U.S. on 200 billion U.S. dollars worth of imported Chinese goods.

The public comment period in the U.S. of additional tariffs on the above-mentioned amount of Chinese imports recently ended and the majority of participants opposed the move.

"If the U.S. side ignores the opposition of the majority of enterprises participating in the public comment, and goes its own way to impose additional tariffs on more Chinese imports, China will have to take necessary countermeasures," said Gao Feng, the MOC spokesperson, at a press briefing.

China reiterates that any attempts to pressure China are unreasonable and futile. The trade war will not solve any problems. Equal and sincere dialogue and negotiations are the only correct ways to solve China-U.S. trade disputes, said Gao.

After the U.S. announcement of a plan to impose additional tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports, China announced countermeasures on Aug. 3 to impose additional tariffs on U.S. imports of 60 billion dollars and released the list of the U.S. products.

Over the past few months, the U.S. has seriously violated the World Trade Organization rules, incessantly introduced unilateral policies and led to the continuous escalation of bilateral trade frictions, which not only damaged businesses and consumers' interests in both countries, but also undermined the global industrial chain and value chain, Gao said.

China will pay close attention to impact caused by the additional tariffs and take effective measures to help Chinese and overseas enterprises operating in the country overcome difficulties, he said.

"China has the confidence, capability, and measures to maintain the stable and healthy development of its economy," said Gao.

Editor: John Li