After U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports starting February 1, China vowed to safeguard its “national interests.” A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, responded on Wednesday, emphasizing that “there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war” and reaffirmed China’s commitment to protecting its national interests.
Trump’s remarks came during a White House press conference, where he explained that the tariff would be implemented to curb the flow of fentanyl from China to Mexico and Canada. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) supports this, pointing out that China-based chemical companies are often at the heart of the global fentanyl supply chain, with fentanyl being one of the biggest drug threats in the U.S.
Trump mentioned in his statements, “For Mexico and China, we’re talking about approximately 25 per cent (tariffs),” likely referring to Mexico and Canada. He also reiterated his concerns about both fentanyl and illegal immigration coming through these countries. Despite not discussing tariffs with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their recent conversation, Trump claimed he had reached a deal with Xi during his first term to impose the death penalty for fentanyl trafficking, which was allegedly abandoned by President Joe Biden.
“I had a deal with him where he was going to give the maximum penalty, which in China is the death penalty, for drug dealing, and he was all set,” Trump said. He further argued that if his agreement had been upheld, fentanyl would not have been supplied to Mexico, Canada, and other nations.