China has firm will, abundant means to take countermeasures if US further escalates restrictive measures: commerce ministry

BEIJING -- With firm will and abundant means, China will resolutely take countermeasures and fight till the end if the United States insists on further escalating economic and trade restrictive measures, China's Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

"I want to emphasize that there is no winner in a trade war, and China does not want a trade war, but the Chinese government will by no means sit by when the legitimate rights of its people are being hurt and deprived," said an official with the ministry.

The official made the remarks when responding to media questions regarding a white paper released Wednesday by the State Council Information Office on China's position on some issues concerning China-US economic and trade relations.

Noting that the successes of China and the United States are opportunities rather than threats for each other, the official said that China hopes the United States will immediately remove its unilateral imposition of tariffs, and work with China to strengthen dialogue, manage differences, and promote cooperation.

China is willing to communicate with the US side on key bilateral economic and trade issues, address their respective concerns through dialogue and consultations on an equal footing, and jointly advance the steady, healthy and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations, the official noted.

The official said that it is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying for the United States to take tariffs as a weapon of exerting maximum pressure and pursuing self-interest.

Under the guise of pursuing "reciprocity" and "fairness," the United States is engaging in zero-sum games and, in essence, seeking "America First" and "American exceptionalism," the official said.

The US side is exploiting tariffs to subvert the existing international economic and trade order, prioritizing US interests above the global common good, and sacrificing the legitimate interests of countries worldwide to serve its own hegemonic agenda, according to the official.

Noting that the United States is also deliberately severing the well-established global industrial and supply chains and breaking the market-oriented free trade rules, the official said these practices seriously interrupt the economic development of countries around the globe and affect the long-term stable growth of the world economy.

"It is well proven by history and facts that by raising tariffs, the United States will not solve its own problems," the official said, noting that instead, it would lead to drastic fluctuations in the financial market, drive up the US inflationary pressure, weaken its industrial foundation, and increase its risk of economic recession, and ultimately, backfire.

As the world's largest developing and developed countries respectively, China and the United States are highly complementary in the fields of natural endowment, human resources, market, capital, and technology, among others, and can achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, the official said.