China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesman put out a strong statement hours after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on that country kicked in.
The statement, posted on X, minced no words.
“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 spokesman wrote on Tuesday evening.
“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.
“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,” the statement said.
The US says Mexican cartels buy from Chinese companies the chemicals to manufacture fentanyl, a drug that has become a huge problem in America.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also put out a video with a strong message that the tariffs war would hurt “first and foremost, American families”.