China has hit back harder following Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs against the country from April 2, 2025. The Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a post on X said, “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.”
China said that Trump’s fentanyl issue “is a flimsy excuse” to increase the tariffs on Chinese imports. The spokesperson said that the country’s countermeasures are entirely legitimate and important to defend their interests and rights.
Trump has earlier blamed China for “not doing enough” to control the fentanyl crisis. He has said that China has not focussed on stopping the export of a chemical in the US that is used to make fentanyl, a drug that is mainly responsible for opioid overdose deaths in the country.
The post also blamed US for the fentanyl crisis in the country. China claimed that they have taken strong actions to support the US in addressing the issue, out of goodwill and a desire to help the American people. However, instead of acknowledging these efforts, the US has tried to blame China and “punish” them by raising tariffs to increase the pressure on the country. China argued that this approach will not resolve the problems of US, but it will damage their cooperation on these efforts.
China further added that intimidation and bullying is not going to scare them. “Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating,” China said, adding that if the United States really wanted to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing would have been to consult China by treating them as equals.
China concluded by saying that if the US wants a trade war on any other type of war, then China is ready to fight it till the end. China is one of the biggest customers of the US for products like chicken, beef, pork and soybeans and now all of these products will face a 10-15% tax which will come into effect on March 10th.