China prepared to fight back on US trade actions, says expert

China could take further actions against the United States, if the latter has no intention to rein itself in on the brink of trade war, an expert said on Saturday.

Wei Jianguo, a former vice-minister of commerce, said China is fully prepared to fight back once the United States takes action based on its trade investigation into the country.

The comments came after US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in imports from China and restrict Chinese investment in the US.

Wei urged the US to call an end to its unilateral and protectionist practices. Otherwise China could add tariffs on more US products, after unveiling recent plans to impose tariffs on up to $3 billion in US imports, mainly agricultural products, he said.

The country is conducting research on the second and third lists of US imports subject to the tariffs, which are likely to cover airplanes, computer chips and the tourism industry, Wei told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

Wei is now vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

The US products subject to tariffs from China are mainly agricultural products. But China could not exclude the possibility of imposing tariffs on more US products, with those from key sectors including automotive, airplane and photographic paper, according to a report from Sinolink Securities.