China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, slammed President Donald Trump on Friday, accusing him of being “two-faced” in his dealings with Beijing and warning of retaliation if Washington imposes additional tariffs.
Beijing’s furious rebuke follows Trump’s decision to double tariffs imposed on Chinese goods last month, raising them from 10 percent to 20 percent. The president citing ongoing shipments to North America of ingredients used to produce fentanyl, the deadly opioid fueling the U.S. drug crisis.
In response, China—America’s third-largest trading partner—hit back with a 15 percent tariff on key U.S. exports, including chicken, pork, soybeans, and beef.
The Chinese foreign minister had a stern warning for the U.S. at a press conference in Beijing on Friday: Impose further tariffs and China will hit back, he said.
“If you choose to cooperate, you will achieve mutual benefit and win-win results; if you blindly exert pressure, China will definitely, resolutely counter,” told reporters in the capital on the sidelines of China’s Two Sessions, the country’s annual political gathering.
Wang said China has “provided all kinds of assistance to the United States in the spirit of humanitarianism” and criticized Washington’s latest tariff hike as irresponsible.
“The United States should not repay kindness with grievances, let alone impose tariffs without reason. This is not the behavior of a responsible major country,” he said.
Wang accused Trump of contradictory dealings with Beijing.
“No country can imagine suppressing and containing China on the one hand, and developing good relations with China on the other. This two-faced approach is not only not conducive to the stability of bilateral relations, but also unable to establish mutual trust,” Wang said.
The diplomat added: “The abuse of fentanyl is an issue that the U.S. has to solve itself.”
“Instead of retaliation, China should focus on cracking down on the production and export of deadly drugs that are killing tens of thousands of Americans every year,” White House Deputy Press Secretary said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “President Trump is committed to putting Americans and America First, and the Trump administration refuses to put a dollar value on American lives.”
His comments echoed remarks by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, who accused the U.S. on Tuesday of “bullying” Beijing and said “the fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.”
He also warned that China would not back down if Washington escalated tensions.
“If the U.S. has other agendas in mind and if war is what the U.S. wants—be it a tariff war, a trade war, or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” the spokesperson added.
