China vows 'all necessary countermeasures' over duties

BEIJING

China on Feb. 28 vowed to take "all necessary countermeasures" after Trump said he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

Trump's latest move is due to enter effect on March 4, intensifying a brewing trade war between the world's two largest economies.

The 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports will come on top of an existing levy of the same rate imposed by Trump on China earlier this month.

In response to Trump's allegations that Beijing is contributing to a deadly fentanyl crisis in the United States, his justification for the tariffs, a spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Washington was "shifting the blame."

"China is one of the countries with the strictest and most thorough anti-narcotics policy in the world," the statement read.

"If the U.S. side insists on going its own way, the Chinese side will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests," it said.

The statement also warned that the tariff hike "is not conducive to solving (the United States') own problems", adding that it would undermine the stability of the global industrial chain."