China will not “fire the first shot” in regards to the looming trade war with the United States but has every intention to retaliate should Washington really follow through with its promise of implementing some $50 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese technologies and intellectual properties, Beijing said Thursday. The first wave of sanctions that encompasses goods from the Far Eastern country valued at some $34 billion is set to go into effect tomorrow at 4:01 AM GMT, i.e. early afternoon in China’s capital. The remaining $16 billion of technologies meant to be burdened with additional tariffs still hasn’t been announced by Washington, though the federal government is expected to define those goods later this summer.
President Trump previously vowed to respond to any retaliation attempt on China’s part, saying he’s prepared to go as far as to target $450 billion worth of imports from the country. The head of the U.S. repeatedly stated he has a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping but maintained the trade deficit between the world’s two largest economies isn’t fair and must be addressed. China said its retaliation for the tariffs has already been prepared and will be launched immediately after the U.S. tariffs go into effect, stating that it doesn’t want a trade war and that the White House is effectively “opening fire” on the entire world with its extra duties.
American consumers aren’t expected to experience any near-term effects of the incoming tariff war due to the heavy borrowing strategy employed by the U.S. Congress but far-reaching consequences of any prolonged trade conflict between such economic superpowers remain a concern. Major Chinese consumer electronics manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE are likely to see their stateside businesses suffer due to the ordeal, though their U.S. operations haven’t been blooming anyway in recent times due to unrelated reasons ranging from national security concerns to trade sanction violations.