China vows to fight as US threatens to impose more tariffs

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–China will firmly respond and fight if the US insists on escalating trade frictions, while keeping its door open for talks to resolve the dispute, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington may impose punitive tariffs on additional $300bn Chinese imports if no deal is reached with China President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in late June.

Whether the two leaders will meet at the G20 forum in Osaka, Japan, “China no information to reveal so far”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

“China’s position on trade issues is very clear and firm. We don’t want to fight a trade war, but is not [afraid] of fighting the war,” he said.

China has been locked in a tit-for-tat trade war with the US since July 2018, with tariffs slapped on a total of $360bn worth of goods between the two economic giants.

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