The United States put into effect the collection of a 25-percent tariff on US$34 billion of Chinese products on July 6. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on the same day that China's counter-tariffs on certain U.S. products have taken effect immediately following the unfair tariff measures against China.

At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held on the same day, Lu said that the wrong practices of the U.S. are in flagrant violation of the rules of the World Trade Organization, and that they will strike a blow to the global trade order, trigger global market turmoil, and hinder global economic recovery. As more and more multinational companies, SMEs and consumers are affected, American companies and citizens will also suffer. In fact, he said, the series of unilateral acts and trade and investment protectionism measures adopted by the U.S. government have caused widespread concern around the world for some time, which has led to counter-attacks and retaliation from a number of countries.

With the 25-percent additional tariffs on Chinese products worth 34 billion U.S. dollars effective on Friday, the United States has ignited the largest trade war in economic history, said a Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesperson.

These tariffs violate the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and represents a typical "trade bully", posing a grave threat to the security of global industry and value chains.

Moreover, it will hamper global economic recovery and trigger global market turmoil while dealing a blow to many multinationals, enterprises and ordinary consumers.

Instead of serving the interests of U.S. companies and people, the move will prove to be counter-productive and damaging.

The Chinese side, having vowed not to fire the first shot, is forced to stage counter-attacks to protect the core national interests and interests of its people.

China will report the relevant situations to the WTO in time, and stand with other countries in defending free trade and multilateral mechanisms.

The ministry also reiterates China's unswerving commitment to deepening reform and expanding opening-up, protecting entrepreneurship, strengthening protection of intellectual property rights, and creating a good business environment for foreign-invested companies in China.

The MOC will continuously assess the impact on affected companies and take effective measures to offer them support.

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