Q: On April 15 EST, the White House issued a Fact Sheet about Section 232 investigation on its website, saying that China faces up to a 245 percent tariff on imports to the United States as a result of its retaliatory actions. Do you have any comment on this? 

A: We noted relevant reports. You should probably ask the U.S. side as to how they arrived at that figure. China has made it very clear that the U.S.’s extortionate tariff hikes on China have become a numbers game, which economically does not make much actual difference anymore, except further demonstrating how the U.S. weaponizes tariff to coerce and bully others. 

Tariff and trade wars have no winners. China does not want to fight those wars but neither are we afraid of them. If the U.S. continues to play this numbers game with tariffs, it will simply be ignored. But if the U.S. continues to inflict actual damage on China’s rights and interests, China will respond with resolute countermeasures and will stand our ground to the end.