On Friday, Beijing opposed President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose an additional 10% duty on Chinese imports. China accused the U.S. of “shifting the blame” for the flow of fentanyl into the country and promised retaliation to protect its interests.
The Commerce Ministry of China stated that the country has some of the world’s strictest anti-drug policies. It also highlighted the risks that new tariffs would pose to global supply chains.
Trump announced on Thursday that he would implement 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada beginning Tuesday, alongside the new 10% duty on Chinese imports.
These tariffs come on top of the 10% tariff imposed on February 4 and coincide with the start of China’s annual parliamentary meetings on Wednesday. During these meetings, Beijing is expected to reveal its main economic priorities for 2025.
The announcement gives Beijing less than a week to formulate countermeasures as the Trump administration appears to be adopting a tougher stance against its strategic rival. This is despite the fact that Trump had previously backed down from the threat of tariffs as high as 60% when he first took office.
A spokesperson from the Commerce Ministry stated, “China has repeatedly stated that unilateral tariffs violate World Trade Organization rules and undermine the multilateral trading system.”
The spokesperson emphasized, “China has one of the strictest and most thoroughly enforced anti-drug policies in the world.” They criticized the U.S. for continuously threatening additional tariffs, calling such behavior “purely ‘shifting blame and shirking responsibility,’ which is not conducive to solving its own problems.”
According to analysts, while Beijing still hopes to reach a deal with the Trump administration, the lack of material progress in trade talks, coupled with increasing signs from the White House of preparing for economic decoupling from China, makes the prospects for a rapprochement between the two economic giants seem dim.
Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics, remarked, “There’s been a lot of motion, but it’s still not clear exactly what the Trump administration’s fundamental goal is with respect to China.”
RETALIATION
The Commerce Ministry expressed its desire to return to negotiations with the U.S. as soon as possible. It warned that failure to negotiate could lead to retaliation.
They stated, “If the U.S. insists on proceeding with this course of action, China will take all necessary countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
During a press briefing in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump mentioned that he added the extra tariffs on China and maintained the Tuesday deadline for Canada and Mexico due to what his administration considers insufficient progress on combating fentanyl flows into the U.S.
A White House official informed Reuters, “There are ongoing discussions with the Chinese, Mexico and Canada. We’ve gotten a good handle on the migration issue, but there are still concerns on the other issue of fentanyl deaths.”
China’s Public Security Ministry announced on Friday that it had added seven new precursor chemicals to a domestic control list and 24 new precursor chemicals to an export control list. They noted that in the past year, they had cracked 151 cases involving drug-making materials and seized 1,427.4 tons of these materials, although it did not specify whether they were related to fentanyl.
Both the White House and Chinese officials appear to be preparing for another four years of intense trade tensions. This is happening despite Trump’s remarks on having a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
High-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials met on Friday and committed to taking steps to “prevent” and “resolve” any external shocks to China’s economy. This meeting occurred in advance of the publication of the government’s annual work report during next week’s parliamentary session, as per state media.
The Politburo meeting followed a week after the White House issued an America First investment memorandum that categorized China as a “foreign adversary.” It accused Beijing of attempting to exploit investments in U.S. firms to steal advanced technology and fund its military development. Earlier in the month, Trump nominated China hawk Landon Heid for a significant role in the Commerce Department. He will oversee the design of AI chip export controls targeting China and other countries.
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