‘If war is what US wants…’: China vows to ‘fight till the end’, says fentanyl issue is ‘flimsy excuse’ amid tariff war

US-China Trade War: “The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports”, China hit back at US president Donald Trump on Tuesday. “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”, Beijing vowed.

President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs went into effect on Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies.

The 10% tariff that Donald Trump placed on Chinese imports in February was doubled to 20%, and Beijing retaliated on Tuesday with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of US farm exports.

Beijing also expanded the number of US companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.

“Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary”, a post by China government's spokesperson read.

“The US, not anyone else, is responsible for the Fentanyl Crisis inside the US In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the US in dealing with the issue. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the US has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes", China alleged in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"They’ve been PUNISHING us for helping them. This is not going to solve the US’s problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation”, the statement added.

Taking a tough stance, the post by the Chinese spokesperson continued, “Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China. Anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating."

"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.” it read.

Donald Trump on Monday said that he told the leaders of Japan and China they cannot continue to reduce the value of their currencies as doing so would be unfair to the United States.

China imposed tariffs on US exports and added 10 firms to an unreliable entity list in retaliation for the Trump administration’s new levy. Beijing said it would charge a duty as high as 15% on American goods including chicken and cotton, while soybeans will face a 10% tariff.

Donald Trump has signaled a desire to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but they have yet to talk a month after the US president raised the possibility of a call to negotiate a deal.