'No one will win a trade war,' China says after Trump tariff threat

WASHINGTON – Neither the United States nor China would win a trade war, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said on Nov 25, after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to slap an additional 10 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports when he takes office on Jan 20.

“About the issue of US tariffs on China, China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in a statement.

“No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” he said.

Trump said he would impose the tariffs until China stops the flow of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the United States.

In the statement, Mr Liu said China had taken steps to combat drug trafficking after an agreement was reached in 2023 between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“The Chinese side has notified the US side of the progress made in US-related law enforcement operations against narcotics,” he said.

“All these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”

There has been incremental but visible progress in cooperation over shutting down illicit traffic in chemicals used to produce deadly fentanyl after Mr Xi and Mr Biden agreed to resume joint efforts.

The United States, where fentanyl abuse has been a major cause of death, has pushed China for tougher law enforcement, including tackling illicit finance and clamping further controls on the chemicals.

In June, China’s top prosecutor urged its law enforcement officials to focus on combating drug trafficking, as Beijing and Washington unveiled a rare joint investigation into drugs.

In August, days after a meeting of a joint counter-narcotics working group, China said it would tighten controls on three chemicals essential for making fentanyl. REUTERS