China has made it clear that it would not remain silent if the US increased tariffs on Chinese goods. The Chinese Commerce ministry in a statement on late Wednesday said it would strike back if the US increased tariffs from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on Chinese goods worth $200 billion.
“The escalation of trade friction is not in the interest of the people of the two countries and the people of the world,” the statement read.
It further said that the Chinese side deeply regrets that if the US tariff measures are implemented, China will have to take necessary countermeasures.
China’s top trade envoy will hold talks with his US counterpart Robert Lighthizer in Washington to hammer out a deal to prevent the trade war.
The two largest economies in the world have been locked in a bruising trade war since July last year after Trump slapped an additional 25 per cent tarrif on an initial $50 billion of Chinese goods.