US Tariffs on China: Manufacturers from northeast China respond swiftly

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The numbers are staggering, and the impact could be widespread. But how will the tariffs directly impact Chinese manufacturers? Reporter GUAN YANG visited some in northeast China for their reaction.

60 kilometers away from the capital of Liaoning Province is Faku county, one of China's largest ceramic production bases.

LIN MAO CHAIRMAN, SONGHAO CERAMIC PRODUCTS "The county's economy is driven by this business. Employment, tax revenue and infrastructure development all depend on ceramics."

GUAN YANG FAKU COUNTY, LIAONING PROVINCE "How are the companies from China responding to president Trump's trade actions? Manufacturers from the small and less-known counties like this one here where the economy sorely depends on one or two pillar industries might have the answer."

The company has just secured an order of ceramic tiles worth 15 million US dollars from the US. He told CGTN that the Made in China brand will never be as cheap as it used to be, and a price war with foreign competitors is out of the equation because of rising operational costs.

LIN MAO CHAIRMAN, SONGHAO CERAMIC PRODUCTS "The reason why we could win over our foreign competitors is efficiency. We understand what our foreign customers want. More importantly, we intend to meet their desires much quicker than anyone else in the industry."

China's ministry of commerce said the country would take necessary measures to defend its legitimate rights and interests. But for Chinese manufacturers like Lin, they don't seem to be bothered by the possible increase on foreign tax.

LIN MAO CHAIRMAN, SONGHAO CERAMIC PRODUCTS "I think what will happen at the end is that, as the quality of Chinese products improves, this idea of made in China will be indispensable to US consumers. So, people in the US are the ones who will be paying the tariffs which their government imposed."

Experts point out that these tariffs will likely cover products from high-tech sectors like robotics, aerospace, high-speed rail, and biotech. And small and medium-sized Chinese companies are already making back-up plans should their product land on Trump's tariffs list.

YU JIANG FOREIGN TRADE MANAGER, SHENYANG RUSTPROOF PACKAGING MATERIAL "We don't think the tariffs will affect us that much, as the US market only accounts for a small portion of our international sales network. If our products are involved in the tariffs, we can just shift our strategies to other foreign markets."

GUAN YANG, CGTN.