Alwaght- China will respond as necessary in the event of a trade war with the US, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.
Wang, speaking on the sidelines of an annual meeting of China’s parliament, said China and the US did not have to be rivals, and history showed that trade wars were not the correct way to resolve problems.
“Especially given today’s globalization, choosing a trade war is a mistaken prescription. The outcome will only be harmful,” the foreign minister said.
“China would have to make a justified and necessary response,” he said.
Wang said China had a long way to go on its path of modernization, and that it “will not and need not displace the United States”.
US President Donald Trump is expected to establish tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum this week, but the White House has said there could be a 30-day exemption for Mexico and Canada and some other countries based on national security.
Such a move aims to counter cheap imports, especially from China, that Trump says undermine US industry and jobs.
Trump still faces growing opposition to the tariffs from congressional Republicans and business worried about their potential impact on the economy. His top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, quit this week after opposing the tariff plan.
But he appeared to brush opposition aside on Wednesday with a tweets demanding that China lay out plans for reducing its trade surplus with the US.
