China’s foreign ministry has issued its strongest rebuke to the Trump administration since the U.S. president returned to the White House, vowing to “fight to the end” with the United States in a “tariff war, trade war or any other war”.
The forceful rhetoric follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods, raising the total duty to 20%.
“Exerting extreme pressure on China is the wrong target and the wrong calculation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters on Tuesday. “If the US has other intentions and insists on a tariff war, trade war or any other war, China will fight to the end.”
Lin urged Washington to “put away its bullying face and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation as soon as possible.”
The comments were subsequently shared on social media platform X by the ministry’s spokesperson and reposted by the Chinese embassy in the United States, which added: “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end”.
When asked on Wednesday to elaborate on what was meant by “any other war”, Lin reiterated China’s position that “if the US has other intentions and insists on damaging China’s interests, we will fight to the end”.
The exchange comes amid Beijing’s strong objections to Trump’s attempts to link the tariffs to fentanyl flowing from China to the United States. Lin characterised the fentanyl issue as “an excuse” for Washington to impose harsh trade measures.
In response to the U.S. tariff increase, China has implemented duties of up to 15% on various American agricultural products.
On Wednesday, China’s State Council published a white paper titled “Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances – China’s Contribution”, asserting that “China rigorously meets its international drug control obligations” and that counter-narcotics operations are “a central focus of cooperation between China and the US”.
The paper highlighted that in 2019, China scheduled all forms of fentanyl, making it the only major country to permanently include the drugs on a list of controlled substances.
However, the White House maintains that “Chinese officials have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals” to organised crime groups, including Mexican drug cartels.
The escalating diplomatic tensions coincide with China’s “two sessions”, the country’s largest annual political event featuring parallel meetings of the National People’s Congress and a top advisory body.
During the opening ceremony of the NPC, Premier Li Qiang delivered the government’s work report, acknowledging that the world was experiencing “changes unseen in a century”.
