China threatened that it is “ready” for a “tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war” after President Donald Trump’s administration doubled tariffs against China on Tuesday.
Following the Trump administration’s implementation of 20% tariffs on Chinese imports on Tuesday, Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, claimed that the issue of fentanyl is a “flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.”
“The U.S., not anyone else, is responsible for the fentanyl crisis inside the U.S. In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the U.S. in dealing with the issue,” Lin said. “Instead of recognizing our efforts, the U.S. has sought to vilify and shift the blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes.”
Lin explained that China is not scared by intimidation, that “bullying does not work” against the Chinese government, and that “pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China.”
“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit to address each other’s concerns,” Lin added. “If the U.S. has other agenda in mind and 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. We urge the U.S. to stop being domineering and return to the right track of dialogue and cooperation at an early date.”
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During a Wednesday interview on “Fox & Friends,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth emphasized that the United States is “prepared” for any potential war with China following Lin’s comments.
“Those who long for peace must prepare for war,” Hegseth said. “That’s why we’re rebuilding our military. That’s why we’re re-establishing deterrence in the warrior ethos. We live in a dangerous world with powerful, ascendant countries with very different ideologies.”
“If we want to deter war with the Chinese or others, we have to be strong,” Hegseth added.
During Wednesday’s interview, Hegseth explained that while the United States does not “seek that war” with China, his job as the secretary of defense is to “make sure we’re ready.”
During Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, the president claimed that other countries have used tariffs against the United States for multiple decades and that it is America’s turn to “start using them against those other countries.”
“On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico, and Canada — have you heard of them? And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them,” Trump said. “It’s very unfair.”
