China vows to fight tariffs to the end, saying trade with US already in balance

Chinese goods going to the US will now face a 104% tax (Chinatopix via AP)

China has again vowed to “fight to the end” against US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

In a length policy statement, Beijing argued that trade between the two countries is already in balance as a 104% tax on the country’s exports to America came into effect.

The Chinese government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House.

“If the US insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary counter-measures and fight to the end,” the ministry of commerce wrote in a statement.

Mr Trump’s tariffs have led to sharp drops in international markets (AP)

Last Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the US and placed export controls on rare earths minerals as well as a slew of other measures in response to Mr Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

The US leader then added an additional 50% tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with Beijing were terminated.

So far, China has not appeared to be interested in bargaining.

Ministry of foreign affairs spokesman Lin Jian said: “If the US truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”

The Chinese government’s white paper says that the US has not honoured the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Mr Trump’s first term.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs took effect on Wednesday (Pool via AP)

As an example, it said that a US law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would “pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals”.

Mr Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days last week after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice.

ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.

The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and US companies’ domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance”.

Chinese officials said the tariffs will not help the US solve its own problems (AP)

It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the US of $26.57bn in 2023, in industries such as insurance, banking and accounting.

Mr Trump’s tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.

The Chinese commerce ministry said: “History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems.

“Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up US inflation pressure, weaken the US industrial base and increase the risk of a US economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.”