Reasonable for China to counter unfair treatment, says FM

It is reasonable for China to take necessary countermeasures when its legitimate interests are treated unfairly, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Friday.

Lu made the remark at a daily news briefing after the United States slapped new tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods, taking effect Friday.

The move taken by the US violated the rules of the World Trade Organization, and will strike the global trade order, rattle global markets and derail global economic recovery, Lu said.

"It will also bring disasters to innocent transnational enterprises, midsize and small enterprises as well as ordinary consumers,” Lu said, adding that many US industries and the public have realized that they will suffer from such a move.

He noted that China always opposes trade protectionism and unilateralism, and the country has been trying to promote relevant countries to objectively understand globalization and resolve differences in trade rationally, which requires relevant sides to meet each other halfway.

"Any unilateral pressure will be futile and no one should have any illusion about it,” he said.

The US tariffs target Chinese goods from a range of sectors including aerospace, information technology, auto parts and medical instruments.

China vowed to implement tariffs on some import products from the US immediately after new US tariffs took effect at 12 pm, Beijing time, on Friday, the country's customs authority said Thursday.