INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Chinese government said Beijing will respond the instant US measures go into effect.Beijing: The United States is "opening fire" on the
world with its threatened tariffs, the Chinese government warned on Thursday, saying Beijing will respond the instant US measures go into
effect as the two locked horns in a bitter trade war.The Trump administration's tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports are due to go into
effect at 12.01 am eastern time on Friday (0401 GMT Friday), which is just after midday on Friday Beijing time.US President Donald Trump
has threatened to escalate the trade conflict with tariffs on as much as a total of $450 billion in Chinese goods if Beijing retaliates,
with the row roiling financial markets including stocks, currencies and global trade of commodities from soy beans to coal.China has said it
will not "fire the first shot", but its customs agency said on Thursday in a short statement that Chinese tariffs on US goods will take
effect immediately after Washington's tariffs on Chinese goods kick in.Speaking at a weekly news conference, Chinese Commerce Ministry
spokesman Gao Feng warned the proposed U.S
tariffs would hit international supply chains, including foreign companies in the world's second-largest economy."If the US implements
tariffs, they will actually be adding tariffs on companies from all countries, including Chinese and U.S
companies," Gao said."US measures are essentially attacking global supply and value chains
To put it simply, the U.S
is opening fire on the entire world, including itself," he said."China will not bow down in the face of threats and blackmail and will not
falter from its determination to defend free trade and the multilateral system."Asked whether U.S
companies will be targeted with "qualitative measures" in China in a trade war, Gao said the government will protect the legal rights of all
foreign companies in the country."We will continue to assess the potential impact of the U.S.-initiated trade war on companies and will help
companies mitigate possible shocks."Gao said China's foreign trade is expected to continue on a stable path in the second half, though
investors fear a full-blown Sino-U.S
trade dispute will deal a body blow to Chinese exports and its economy.He emphasised that US tariffs on Chinese exports will hurt both
Chinese and foreign firms.Foreign companies accounted for $20 billion, or 59 percent, of the $34 billion of exports from China that will be
subject to new tariffs from the US starting from Friday, with US firms accounting for a significant part of that 59 percent, Gao
added.European officials have told Reuters that China has put pressure on the European Union to issue a strong joint statement against U.S
President Donald Trump's trade policies, but so far they have insisted on not taking sides..Chinese stocks were mixed while the yuan slipped
slightly against the dollar in early Thursday trading as a targeted cut of reserve requirements for banks took effect amid heightened the
trade tensions.CHINA MEDIA LAMBASTES USOn Thursday, China's state media lambasted the United States.The widely-read Global Times tabloid
said in an editorial that China must prepare for containment by the United States."With strong manufacturing capability and huge market
potential, China's development is difficult to suppress
But the country will encounter more barriers in future development, to which we should learn to adapt," it said."While the Trump
administration is anxious about gains and losses, Chinese people have unfaltering confidence in China's future."Both Chinese and U.S
business sources in China said there appeared to be little hope that the tariffs could be averted."I'm afraid not, for now," said Tu
Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics, who has advised the Chinese government.A U.S
industry source said: "There is a 99 percent chance that tariffs go into force on Friday.""Frankly, I don't know what action China could
take at the moment that would allow the U.S
to not impose tariffs," the U.S
source said, adding that there was no evidence the two governments had any substantive engagement at the moment that could lead to the
shelving of duties.A senior Western diplomat told Reuters that there was no sign of any talks at the moment between the two countries, even
via back channels.The industry source said Beijing had been unable to address the Trump administration's concerns on Chinese trade policies
in at least five key area, including forced technology transfers, Chinese industrial overcapacity, government subsidies, SOE reform, and
Beijing's restrictions in the cloud computing industry. © Thomson Reuters 2018
