Chinese retaliatory measures against US already in effect

China on Friday said it had imposed retaliatory measures on US goods immediately after Washington implemented tariff measures on Chinese goods, a Chinese official said.

“After the US activated its tariff measures against China, China’s measures against the US took effect immediately,” said Lu Kang, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, the Commerce Ministry had released a list that matched Washington’s $34 billion dollar for dollar.

“We never wanted to see the escalation of trade frictions into a trade war. A trade war is the last thing we want to see, because we said many times that no one will benefit from a trade war,” Lu said.

Also Read | China to hit back at US with duties on American imports after Trump imposes tariffs on Chinese goods worth $60 bn

“Bullying and threatening will lead to nowhere. Our position remains consistent and very clear,” he added.

Early on Friday, China’s Commerce Ministry accused the US of launching the “largest trade war in economic history,” and said it could trigger “global market turmoil”.

Today’s tariffs could mark the opening skirmishes of an escalating tit-for-tat trade war, as Trump has vowed to impose duties on as much as $450 billion in Chinese goods—the vast majority of all of China’s exports to the US, according to AFP in Beijing.