The United States unreasonably imposed two rounds of tariffs on China under the pretext of fentanyl, and China promptly took countermeasures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"These countermeasures remain effective," spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing. Lin made the remarks in an answer to a question about the U.S. imposing 20 percent tariffs on China under the pretext of the fentanyl issue after the Geneva talks.