China's steel industry vows to rise to US challenges

BEIJING - China's iron and steel industry has vowed to actively respond to the challenges from the United States and firmly support government counter-measures against US imports.

"We don't want a trade war because it will bring us losses, but we are not afraid of a trade war, as it will also inflict losses on them," said Liu Zhenjiang, secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

The remarks came after the US administration decided to impose a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum, with tariffs on imports from countries including China.

To balance losses caused by the move, China put into effect counter-measures on US products on Monday.

The measures, or the suspension of tariff concessions, targeted 128 items of US products, including seamless steel tubes and some other steel products.

Liu said the United States has initiated a series of trade actions against Chinese steel imports since 2015, adding that escalated protectionist measures by the Trump administration are creating new troubles for the world.