China’s State Run Newspaper’s Editor: Chinese Government Is Determined to Strike Back Against Tariffs

The top editor of China’s state-run propaganda newspaper, The Global Times, tweeted that China plans to target tens of billions of dollars of U.S. products in retaliation for the $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods the U.S. announced yesterday.

I learned that Chinese govt is determined to strike back. Friday’s plan to impose $3b tariffs is to retaliate tariffs on steel and aluminum products. China’s retaliation lists against the 301 investigation will target US products worth $ tens of billions. It is in the making.

— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) March 23, 2018

Hu Xijin has been the editor-in-chief of the Global Times since 2005. He was appointed to the post by the Communist Party and his public statements nearly always reflect the thinking of the party’s leaders.

On Friday, China said it would put $3 billion of tariffs on American goods. Those tariffs will tax fruit, pork, recycled aluminum, and steel pipes, according to the Chinese Commerce Ministry.

“If somebody imposes a trade war on China, we’ll fight to the end,” China’s ambassador to the U.S. said on state television.

The Trump administration insists it is not trying to spark a trade war with China. Instead, the administration says that its tariffs are aimed at convincing China to abandon trade practices U.S. officials describe as “economic aggression.”