This picture reveals a normal view of a display broadcasting reside footage of China’s President Xi Jinping attending the opening session of the Nationwide Individuals’s Congress (NPC) as seen exterior a shopping center in Beijing on March 5, 2025.
Greg Baker | Afp | Getty Photographs
China mentioned it was ready to struggle “any sort of conflict” with the U.S., as President Donald Trump ratchets up financial and political stress on the nation.
“If conflict is what the U.S. needs, be it a tariff conflict, a commerce conflict or another sort of conflict, we’re able to struggle until the tip,” Chinese language Embassy within the U.S. mentioned in a submit on X on Wednesday, signaling an more and more aggressive stance towards the U.S.
The remarks got here as Trump’s extra 10% tariffs on imports from China took impact Tuesday, taking the cumulative tariffs imposed in nearly a month to twenty%.
“If the U.S. has different agenda in thoughts and if harming China’s pursuits is what the U.S. needs, we’re able to struggle until the tip. We urge the U.S. to cease being domineering and return to the suitable monitor of dialogue and cooperation at an early date,” a Chinese language international ministry spokesperson mentioned Wednesday.
In a swift retaliation to U.S. duties, Beijing introduced Tuesday extra tariffs as excessive as 15% on sure U.S. items, ranging from March 10 and a sequence of recent export restrictions for designated U.S. entities.
Answering a query on the Chinese language embassy’s remarks, U.S. Secretary of Protection Peter Hegseth mentioned in an interview with Fox News Wednesday that whereas the U.S. was not actively in search of battle with China, the nation is “ready.”
“We reside in a harmful world with highly effective, ascendant international locations with very completely different ideology,” he added, “If we need to deter conflict with the Chinese language or others, we have now to be robust.”
Beijing’s tariff motion to focus on U.S. agricultural exports displays an try and set off political stress on Trump from farmers, a key Republican constituency, Gabriel Wildau, managing director of Teneo mentioned in a be aware.
Agricultural merchandise are the biggest U.S. exports to China, with soybeans — which Beijing hit with new duties of 10% — being topping the record. Over the last U.S.-China commerce conflict, Chinese language tariffs spurred home importers to shift purchases of soybeans to Brazil and Argentina.
With U.S. tariffs threatening to crimp China’s exports, a uncommon vivid spot in an in any other case slowing economic system, Beijing has signaled its willingness to make use of financial and financial stimulus to mitigate their influence this yr.
Trump introduced the 2 rounds of China tariffs in response to the Asian nation’s alleged function within the fentanyl commerce. The addictive drug, precursors to that are largely produced in China and Mexico, has led to tens of hundreds of overdose deaths every year within the U.S.
China has known as the U.S. fentanyl-related clarification for imposing tariffs a “flimsy excuse.”
After the preliminary spherical of recent U.S. tariffs in February, China’s retaliatory measures included raising duties on certain U.S. energy imports and placing two U.S. corporations on an unreliable entities record that might limit their skill to do enterprise within the Asian nation.
China’s relationship with the U.S. is sure to see disagreements, however Beijing won’t settle for stress or threats, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th Nationwide Individuals’s Congress, instructed reporters Tuesday morning.
China’s greatest political assembly of this yr kicked off on Tuesday in Beijing, the place the federal government set the important thing financial targets for 2025 and can proceed to unveil their financial blueprint for the yr. The occasion is scheduled to conclude on March 11.
Whereas it stays a base-case state of affairs that Washington and Beijing may attain an settlement to roll again some tariffs after a sequence of negotiations, Wildau cautioned that dangers for a “broad and sturdy decoupling of the 2 economies” have been rising.
China mentioned in its authorities work report on Wednesday that it could enhance defense spending by 7.2% this year to “safeguard” its nationwide safety.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng, Hui Jie Lim contributed to the report.
