Beijing tells US not too late to back out of trade tensions

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China has expressed strong disappointment and is prepared to stand its ground as the US sets a very bad precedent in global trade, authorities said on Friday after the Trump administration moved to impose tariffs on nearly 60 billion US dollars of Chinese goods, as Beijing continues an attempt to deter the US from taking further action in deteriorating trade relations.

Urgently warning the US against bringing trade relations into “dangerous territory,” China has the confidence and the ability to meet any challenge, and hopes the US will "pause and turn back at the brink of a precipice," the commerce ministry said in its third statement issued in just over 24 hours Friday morning.

The ministry has released a list of 128 US products that it plans to tax as a means to compensate for the effects of the US actions, including fruits, nuts, wines and steel piping, which will be subject to a 15-percent levy, as well as pork and scrap aluminum, with a 25-percent tariff.

"We will certainly fight back. We will retaliate. If people want to play tough, we will play tough with them, and see who will last longer," said Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the US, on Thursday, as Beijing’s attitude noticeably toughened in the past few days after months of urging rational actions and reminding the US of the immense damage a trade war would do.

“We urged the US to cease and desist, make cautious decisions, and avoid placing China-US trade relations in danger,” said the statement from the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Chinese economists have also pitched into the conversation, reminding the US that it stands to lose out more in a trade war than China does. While the US imports thousands of kinds of goods from China, hitting any individual target with tariffs would deal only a small blow to the overall economy, says Justin Lin Yifu, former chief economist of the World Bank.