Beijing vows to take ‘more steps’ to protect its interests if Trump raises tariffs on China

China will enact new measures to safeguard its economy if the United States moves forward with its threat to impose higher tariffs, Beijing has warned.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday that it is resolutely opposed to new US tariffs and issues between the two countries should be resolved with talks. He added that China hopes the US moves back to the path of rationality and “decoupling” won’t resolve the current impasse.

The sentiments were echoed by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He who was speaking at a tech conference in Chongqing on Monday. Liu, China’s top trade negotiator, said that China is willing to resolve the trade war through calm negotiations and resolutely opposes the escalation of the conflict, the Chongqing Morning Post reported.

The comments come in the wake of President Donald Trump announcing an extra 5 percent duty on some $550 billion of Chinese goods on Friday. That move followed China’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion of imports from the US as the trade war continues to spiral.

China's yuan fell to an 11-year low on Monday as the latest escalation spooked investors.

At the G7 summit on Sunday, Trump said that he could declare the escalating US-China trade war as a national emergency if he wanted to. “In many ways, this is an emergency,” he said.

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