China on Trump's tariffs: 'If US wants war, ready to fight till the end'

After US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20 per cent, China reacted sharply on Wednesday (March 5), stating “if war is what the US wants, we’re ready to fight till the end”.

Also read: Reciprocal tariffs against India from April 2, announces Trump in Congress address

The Chinese Embassy in the US said that Washington should treat Beijing as an equal to solve the fentanyl issue.

What China said

“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the #fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals. 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,” the Chinese Embassy in the US posted on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday.

Also read: Trump’s tariffs on India: Trade war or negotiation tactic?

The Chinese Foreign Ministry claimed the fentanyl issue is a “flimsy excuse” for the US to raise tariffs on Chinese imports.

“The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on X.

‘Intimidation doesn’t scare us’

The ministry accused the US of shifting blame to China over “fentanyl crisis” and “seeking to pressure and blackmail” Beijing with tariff hikes, and added that “intimidation doesn’t scare us”.

“The U.S., not anyone else, is responsible for the #FentanylCrisis 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. Instead of recognizing our efforts, the U.S. has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes. They’ve been PUNISHING us for helping them. This is not going to solve the U.S.’s problem and will undermine our counternarcotics dialogue and cooperation (sic),” the ministry said on X.

“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 U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals. 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,” it added.

What is fentanyl issue?

In a statement last month, the White House said President Trump was taking “bold action” to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into America.

“The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),” it added.

Further, it said, “The orders make clear that the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States, through illicit distribution networks, has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis. Chinese officials have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down money laundering by transnational criminal organizations.”

Deaths due to fentanyl overdoses

Last fiscal year, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended more than 21,000 pounds of fentanyl at the borders, enough fentanyl to kill more than 4 billion people, White House said.

“It is estimated that federal officials are only able to seize a fraction of the fentanyl smuggled across the southern border. These drugs kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, including 75,000 deaths per year attributed to fentanyl alone. More Americans are dying from fentanyl overdoses each year than the number of American lives lost in the entirety of the Vietnam War,” the US administration said.