China threatens to retaliate if US imposes new tariffs

By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) - China threatened to retaliate if U.S. President Donald Trump raises tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods from Beijing ahead of trade talks.

"China deeply regrets this, and will be forced to take necessary counter-measures if the US side puts the tariff measures into effect," the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.

Trade talks between the world’s two largest economies are set to resume Thursday in Washington.

Trump said he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% May 10. It is aimed at placing pressure in China to accept Washington’s terms and wrap up negotiations.

Washington and Beijing are engaged in a trade war since Trump imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminum items from China in 2018.

In a tit-for-tat move, China imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of American imports.

The General Administration of Customs (GAC) data released by China on Wednesday showed that from January to April, trade between the two nations was 1.1 trillion yuan ($173 billion), down 20% in 2018 from the previous year when tensions began.

“China's trade surplus with the US, one of the main grievances of the US administration against China, expanded 10.5 percent to 570.2 billion yuan ($84.17 billion) during the period,” GAC data showed.