China will have to take necessary countermeasures if the US willfully goes its own way to impose any additional tariffs on Chinese goods without considering the opposition of the vast majority of enterprises, spokesperson Gao Feng from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said Thursday.

MOFCOM spokesperson Gao Feng at the regular press conference on September 6. (Photo: mofcom.gov.cn)

We reiterate that any pressure measures are unreasonable and ineffective for China. The trade war cannot solve any problem. Only equal and honesty dialogue and consultations are the right choice to resolve China-US trade frictions, Gao added.

Media pointed out at the regular press conference Thursday afternoon that the opinion solicitation of US additional tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products has ended. Although 90 percent of the participants disagreed with the tariffs, there was news claiming that US President Donald Trump sought to continue to push tariff measures against China after the end of the opinion solicitation period.

“For some time, the US has seriously violated WTO rules and continuously introduced unilateral measures to escalate China-US trade frictions, which not only harmed the interests of Chinese and American companies and consumers, but threatened the safety of global industrial and value chains,” said Gao.

“China will take necessary countermeasures to US actions. China will also pay close attention to the various effects of the additional tariffs and will take effective measures to help Chinese and foreign-funded enterprises operating in China overcome difficulties. China has the confidence, ability and means to maintain the steady and healthy development of the economy,” said Gao.

“Both sides are continuing to maintain contact and communication, exchange views on issues of mutual concern, and work to resolve China-US economic and trade issues,” Gao said.