TMTPOST -- China warned Tuesday over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s latest threat of massive extra traiffs.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

“China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in the U.S. on X. Liu’s post forwarded a Financial Time report that said Trump revealed his plan to imose tariffs on all U.S. imports from China, Cannada and Mexico in retaliation for illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

In the Monday night post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said his first of “many” executive orders on January 20, the day he takes office, would introduce 25% tariffs on goods entering the US from Canada and Mexico, and will also increase existing tariffs on China by 10%.

Trump said extra tariffs will be in place until Mexico and Canada clamp down on drugs and illegal migrants crossing the border. "As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime and drugs at levels never seen before," he wrote. 

For China, an additional 10% tariff will be charged on goods coming from China, on top of any other tariffs until cracks down on fentanyl being smuggled out the country.10% is lower than Trump threatened before. as a candidate, he has had pledged to slap 60% tariffs on all goods coming in from China and 10% tariffs on goods imported from all other countries.

Trump said he had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States, but to no avail. “Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through, and drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before,” wrote Trump.

Liu refuted Trump’s remark, stating the fact is both country’s counternarcotics authorities have regularly communicated since Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Joe Biden in the San Francisco Summit in November 2023. The Chinese government has notified Washington of the progress made in US-related law enforcement operations against narcotics, and China has responded to U.S. request for verifying clues on certain cases and taken action. All these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality, Liu said in the post Tuesday.

China’s Foreign Minstry spokesperson later that day commented on Trump’s tariff threat. “China is one of the world’s toughest countries on counternarcotics both in terms of policy and its implementation. Fentanyl is an issue for the US,” the spokesperson said, according to a press on the ministry website. “In the spirit of humanity, China has given support to the US’s response to this issue. As early as in 2019, China officially scheduled all fentanyl-related substances and is the first country in the world ever to do so. China has carried out extensive and in-depth counternarcotics cooperation with the US, which has been highly productive. This is a clear fact for all to see.”

The spokesperson urged U.S. not to take China’s goodwill for granted and work to ensure that the hard-won positive dynamics will stay in the counternarcotics cooperation. China remains ready to continue counternarcotics cooperation with the US on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect, the person said.