The Chinese Commerce Ministry has initiated a World Trade Organization complaint against Washington's 301 investigation. That's right after Beijing released a list of American products facing tariffs, one that was issued reluctantly, but with good reason.

ZHU GUANGYAO CHINESE VICE FINANCE MINISTER "The US exported 32.854 million tons of soybeans to China in 2017, accounting for 34.39 percent of the entire Chinese import, which was so large, Chinese soybean farmers put forward their demands to the relevant association, and the subsidies from the US government have affected China's soybean farmers' interests. The Chinese government respects the requirements of the Chinese farmers and the policy demands from China's soybean association. So, in this respect, soybeans serve as a counter option at this time."

American soybean exports to China account for nearly two-thirds of the total amount shipped overseas. The vice minister says, at present, this levy has not yet gone into effect. But a move like this was necessary, seeing as how Washington levied Chinese imports worth up to 50 billion US dollars.

WANG SHOUWEN CHINESE VICE COMMERCE MINISTER "In the spirit of international law, and in accordance with the requirements of the No. 7 item from China's foreign trade law, we must adopt corresponding measures to deal with any countries and regions that take any actions regarding discriminatory prohibitions, restrictions or similar measures in terms of trade with China. As Vice Minister Zhu said, we have just released our list worth nearly 50 billion dollars as well. I have to say, we were compelled to take this action and our practice was restrained. "

The US tariffs would target products key to China's industrial upgrade strategy. The Chinese foreign ministry says pushing forward the "Made in China 2025" strategy is within the country's right to improve its manufacturing capacity.

GENG SHUANG SPOKESPERSON, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "China has been open and transparent in our goal of becoming a strong country in manufacturing through our "Made in China 2025" strategy. The US is leading the world in technology development and manufacturing. It should compete with others in an open and justifiable manner. There is no need for the US to take unilateralist and protectionist measures, to obstruct other countries' development. The actions the US has taken will surely impact China, but we can handle it."

Officials say Beijing would wait until Washington makes the first move. The vice commerce minister also said any alteration in the trade deficit between China and the US must require efforts on both sides, and not, as President Trump suggested, from China alone. It is not so much a trade war as yet, but officials say China will fight until the last minute should it happen. They also stress the doors are always open to dialogue.