Just a few hours after the US announced a series of penalty tariffs on Chinese products, China struck back. The country's Ministry of Commerce responded on Friday with a plan to suspend concessions for over two hundred American products. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He also called US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin today and said that Beijing is ready to defend its interests, adding that trade talks are still possible. CGTN's Ma Ke has more.

Most of the products being restricted by the US are from high-tech industries like industrial robots, clean energy cars, aerospace products, and sophisticated medical equipment. The US Treasury Department is also seeking to further limit Chinese investment in American tech companies. These measures suggest an evident focus of the latest China-US trade friction, on intellectual property. China has made great progress in cutting-edge fields like mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things since state leaders put forward the "Made in China 2025" Strategy. This has hit a nerve of President Trump, who accused China of "taking US technology". The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has responded.

CHEN FULI DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF TREATY AND LAW CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "Since China pursued a reform and opening up policy 40 years ago, China has firmly facilitated market-orientated reform, expanded market access, strengthened the protection of intellectual property rights. The US ignores China's reality. It ignores the years of efforts that the two countries have put in to strengthen economic and trade cooperation, and dialogues on intellectual property rights."

In the planned retaliation to a US tariff rise, China will target American agricultural, steel and aluminium products. But it has not crossed that bridge yet. Major imports from the US like soy beans, cotton, vehicles, and Boeing aircraft are not on the list. This leaves space for manoeuvring. But commitment from both sides are required.

HUA CHUNYING, SPOKESPERSON CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "We want no trade war with anyone. But if our hands are forced we will neither show fear nor recoil from it."

The friction between the world's two largest economies is catching global attention. When asked about the possibility of a trade war and China's strategy, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang gave his answer, upholding China's continuous policy of common prosperity and a shared future.

LI KEQIANG CHINESE PREMIER "China-US relations are relations between the world's largest developing country and developed country. Our economies are highly complementary. The steadiness of our relations is beneficial to not only our countries but also the world at large."

Fifteen days now remain for the US Trade Representatives to release details of the tariff increase, and two months for the Treasury Department to decide whether to impose limitations on Chinese investors. Much can still change. Ma Ke, CGTN.