China responds strongly to Trump’s tariff: ‘We firmly oppose US threatening and blackmailing…’

China reacted to US President Donald Trump's tariffs over the fentanyl issue on Wednesday, saying the US “is spreading all kinds of false information on the fentanyl issue, smearing and scapegoating China, and hiking tariffs on Chinese imports over fentanyl”.

“Such moves are unjustified and will do no one good,” said China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Wednesday.

He said China’s position is clear-cut. “We stand ready for practical cooperation with the US based on equality and mutual respect,” the spokesperson posted on X.

“We firmly oppose the US pressuring, threatening and blackmailing China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue. We urge the US to respect facts, bear in mind its own interest and make the right choice,” Jian added.

The Chinese Embassy in the US, meanwhile, posted, “If the US truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals.”

China also challenged the US, saying, “If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”

Fentanyl crisis

A recent inquiry by the House Select Committee focused on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party has brought to light troubling information regarding the CCP's role in exacerbating the fentanyl epidemic in the United States.

The report indicates that nearly all illicit fentanyl precursors are produced by Chinese companies, which are then trafficked internationally, especially to Mexican cartels responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl within the US.

According to the findings, the Chinese government provides subsidies for the production and export of fentanyl precursors through tax incentives, even though these substances are prohibited under both US and Chinese law.

Trump criticises high tariffs

US President Donald Trump criticised the high tariffs charged by India and other countries, terming them as “very unfair” and announced reciprocal tariffs from April 2 on nations that impose levies on American goods.

Trump made these remarks in an address to the Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday. It was the first address of his second term in the White House. On January 20, Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the US.

“If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff and, in some cases, a rather large one," Trump said.

“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our 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. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100 per cent.”

(With inputs from agencies)