China says ‘forced to take necessary countermeasures’ after US tariffs

Beijing (AFP) – China said on Friday it was “forced to take necessary countermeasures,” after Washington imposed tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese imports at the stroke of midnight.

“China promised not to fight the first shot, but in order to defend the core interests of the country and the interests of the people, we are forced to take the necessary countermeasures,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement. 

The statement did not specify what those countermeasures would entail beyond taking the case to the World Trade Organization, though the ministry had previously said it would hit back with new border taxes on an equal amount of US goods.