China won't just play defense in trade war, Global Times warns

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will not be content to only play defence in an escalating trade war with the United States, a widely read Chinese tabloid warned, as President Donald Trump was expected to announce new tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods as early as Monday.

Beijing may also decline to participate in proposed trade talks with Washington later this month if the Trump administration goes ahead with the additional tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing Chinese officials.

The Journal report quoted one senior Chinese advisory official saying China would not negotiate “with a gun pointed to its head.”

The United States and China have already levied duties on $50 billion worth of each other’s goods in an intensifying row that has jolted global financial markets in the past few months.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department invited senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He for more talks on the tariff dispute, though scepticism remained high among trade observers on both sides over the prospects of a breakthrough.

A senior administration official told Reuters over the weekend that Trump is likely to announce the new tariffs as early as Monday.

Besides retaliating with tariffs, China could also restrict export of goods, raw materials and components core to U.S. manufacturing supply chains, former finance minister Lou Jiwei told a Beijing forum on Sunday, according to an attendee.