The Chinese Embassy in the United States said on Wednesday that it was \u201cready to fight till the end\u201d with the US in its trade war. Major Asian markets traded up on Wednesday, reversing their losses a day after US President Donald Trump imposed more blanket tariffs on Chinese imports following a similar move last month. US tariffs are expected to hit hundreds of billions of dollars in total trade between the world\u2019s two largest economies. Chinese exports have also reached record levels last year. \u201cIf war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we\u2019re ready to fight till the end,\u201d the Chinese Embassy in the United States said in a post on X. The embassy quoted a post by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson which said that, \u201cThe fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise US tariffs on Chinese imports. Our countermeasures to defend our rights and interests are fully legitimate and necessary.\u201d Earlier in the month, the US decided to impose a 10-per cent tariff on goods imported from China. The White House said the 10pc tariff is on all imports from China and on top of existing tariffs. The tariff hike will come into effect on Tuesday. The US side cited the fentanyl issue in the US as the justification for the move. Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid, 50 times more potent than heroin. It is often used to make counterfeit narcotics because of its relatively cheap price, and it has played an increasingly central role in an opioid crisis in the United States. Beijing had announced its own measures on Tuesday in retaliation for Washington\u2019s latest tariff hike and vowed it would fight a trade war to the \u201cbitter end\u201d. The moves will see China impose levies of up to 15pc on a range of US agricultural products including soybeans, pork and wheat starting from early next week. Beijing\u2019s countermeasures represent a \u201crelatively muted response\u201d in comparison to Trump\u2019s all-encompassing tariffs, wrote Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING. \u201cThe retaliation could have been a lot stronger, and with every further escalation the risks are also rising for a stronger response,\u201d he said. Analysts say authorities could announce further plans to boost the economy this week, adding to a string of aggressive support measures announced late last year. China eyes 5pc growth despite US trade war China set an ambitious annual growth target of around five per cent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver as an escalating trade war with the United States hit Beijing\u2019s exports. Beijing also announced a rare hike in fiscal funding, allowing its budget deficit to reach four pc this year as it battles stuttering employment for young people, stubbornly low consumer demand and a persistent property sector debt crisis. The headline growth figure announced by Premier Li Qiang at an annual Communist Party conclave was broadly in line with an AFP survey of analysts, although experts say it is ambitious considering the scale of China\u2019s economic challenges. Sentiments were clouded by a broadening trade war under Trump as thousands of delegates congregated in Beijing\u2019s opulent Great Hall of the People for the opening session of the National People\u2019s Congress, the second of China\u2019s \u201cTwo Sessions\u201d political meetings this week. Some 12 million new jobs will be created in Chinese cities under the plans as Beijing pushes for two pc inflation this year. A government work report vowed to make domestic demand the \u201cmain engine and anchor\u201d of growth, adding that Beijing should \u201cmove faster to address inadequate domestic demand, particularly insufficient consumption\u201d. And in a rare move, Li said China would hike its fiscal deficit by one percentage point, which analysts have said will give Beijing more latitude to tackle its economic slowdown. Beijing\u2019s growth target would be \u201ctough but possible\u201d, said Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore\u2019s Nanyang Technological University. He said low consumption was a \u201cconfidence issue\u201d, adding that \u201cif people are, in their own calculations, worried about spending \u2014 especially on big-ticket items \u2014 it is far harder to address\u201d. Another analyst said Beijing\u2019s policies were not yet \u201cbig enough to really like significantly drive up the consumer sentiment\u201d. \u201cWe need to see a very broad-based recovery of employment, income as well as the property market before we can really see a change in consumption patterns and retail sales trend,\u201d Yue Su, Principal Economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told AFP. \u201cInternationally, changes unseen in a century are unfolding across the world at a faster pace,\u201d the government work report said. \u201cUnilateralism and protectionism are on the rise,\u201d it warned. \u201c\u2026 domestically, the foundation for China\u2019s sustained economic recovery and growth is not strong enough,\u201d the report said. More help needed China also disclosed on Wednesday a 7.2pc rise in defence spending in 2025, as Beijing rapidly modernises its armed forces in the face of regional tensions and strategic competition with the United States. However, online comments bemoaned the spending rise as \u201ctoo little\u201d. Another wrote: \u201cWe must strengthen ourselves to achieve world peace.\u201d Geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington are set to intensify this year, analysts say. The status of self-governed Taiwan \u2014 claimed by China as part of its sovereign territory \u2014 is chief among the sources of friction. The defence spending will finance Beijing\u2019s frequent dispatches of military aircraft around Taiwan, intended to put pressure on authorities in the island. It also came after Trump proposed a coordinated halving of the military budgets of the United States, Russia and China. China has not agreed to such a move, with a foreign ministry spokesperson suggesting last month that any reductions in military expenditure should be conducted by Washington first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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