China’s Commerce Ministry: Beijing Will Have to Respond to Latest US Tariffs

Local Editor

China will have to retaliate against the US latest decision to impose new tariffs on imports from China, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday.

"We express deep regrets about this [new US tariffs]. To defend our legitimate rights and safeguard the global order of free trade, the Chinese side will be forced to respond. The US side's decision to introduce tariffs has brought uncertainties to negotiations between both sides. We hope the US side can realize the negative results triggered by such actions and make corrections in a convincing manner," the Commerce Ministry's statement read.

China's plans to send Vice-Premier Liu He to the United States for trade talks are being reconsidered following US President Donald Trump's decision to slap new tariffs on Chinese goods, local media reported on Tuesday, citing a government source.

However, Beijing is now reviewing its earlier plans to send a delegation to Washington next week after the US decision to aggravate the trade row, according to the South China Morning Post.

Trump said on Monday that the United States would impose fresh 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods that will take effect on September 24. On January 1, the tariffs are expected to grow to 25 percent.

Senior Trump administration officials proposed a new round of trade talks with China last week in an effort to address existing issues and concerns, with Chinese officials welcoming the invitation.

China-US trade tensions escalated in March after Trump announced import tariffs on steel and aluminum. Since then, Washington and Beijing have imposed several rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, with bilateral trade consultations so far failing to halt the mounting trade war.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team