Hours after Donald Trump initiated a trade war with China, Beijing condemned the move and vowed to take “countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.” The Chinese foreign ministry, in an official statement, said that the US tariff violates global trade rules and could disrupt cooperation on drug control efforts between the two countries.

“Trade and tariff wars have no winners,” China’s foreign ministry said. “The US’s unilateral tariff hikes severely violate World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules,” it added.

This comes as Trump imposed a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods. Beijing warned that such measures would not resolve economic issues in the US and would harm both countries.

China also addressed concerns over fentanyl, a synthetic opioid linked to overdose deaths in the US. It said Beijing has taken strong steps to control the drug and has cooperated with Washington.

“In the spirit of humanity and goodwill, China has given support to the US’s response to this issue,” the foreign ministry said. It noted that China classified all fentanyl-related substances as a controlled category in 2019, a step it said was taken at the request of Washington.

China said it has engaged in broad cooperation with the US on drug control and called for a “rational” approach to the issue.

“The US needs to view and solve its own fentanyl issue in an objective and rational way instead of threatening other countries with arbitrary tariff hikes,” the statement said.

Beijing warned that additional tariffs could affect future cooperation on counternarcotics efforts. "China calls on the US to correct its wrongdoings, maintain the hard-won positive dynamics in the counternarcotics cooperation, and promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of the China-US relationship," the foreign ministry said.

Source: India Today