China will not fire the first shot in the trade war with the US

US-China trade tensions escalate. Photo: AP

Earlier, a well-informed source said that China threatened to start imposing tariffs on US goods worth $34 billion starting July 6. Due to the 12-hour time difference, Beijing's tariffs will be implemented earlier than Washington's. Many other media outlets also published similar information.

However, in response, the Chinese Ministry of Finance had a brief explanation. The Ministry's announcement stated: "The Chinese government's stance has been stated many times. We will definitely not fire the first shot, and will not implement tariff measures before the US does so."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang warned that the country was ready to take action, although he did not confirm when China's tariffs would take effect.

Meanwhile, many Chinese state media outlets have continued to criticize the US. The China Daily newspaper said that the US is deliberately preventing China from developing, so that Washington can continue to challenge Beijing's role in the global economic order.

The paper commented: “The US has maintained hegemony in the military and financial fields for decades. Now it is pursuing hegemony in the economic field.”

The Global Times newspaper said that the risk of a trade war would cause chaos for the whole world. According to this newspaper, retaliation is the first reaction of major economies to the trade war initiated by Washington.

This newspaper said: "It is difficult to predict how these moves will lead the world to the end, but certainly the US will have to pay a heavy price due to its plots to change the entire world."

The US government is expected to begin imposing tariffs on more than $30 billion worth of Chinese imports on July 6, accusing Beijing of violating intellectual property rights and other unfair trade practices. China has pledged to respond accordingly./.