China strongly deplored the United States for once again threatening to impose tariffs on Chinese goods under the pretext of the fentanyl issue, vowing to take all necessary measures to firmly defend its legitimate interests.

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his administration would not only impose the originally outlined 10 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports, but also an additional 10 percent tariff set to take effect on March 4 over the fentanyl issue.

Speaking at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian emphasized that there are no winners in a trade or tariff war, adding that unilaterally imposing tariffs seriously violates WTO rules and harms the interests of both countries and the global community.

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Lin pointed out that China has one of the strictest and most thorough drug control policies in the world and stated, "Fentanyl is a problem of the US. In a humanitarian spirit, China has supported the US in addressing the fentanyl issue."

According to the spokesman, at the request of the US, China officially classified fentanyl-related substances in 2019, becoming the first country in the world to do so.

He also highlighted the extensive and in-depth drug control cooperation between China and the US, which has achieved significant results and received widespread recognition by various sectors in the US.

Lin warned that such moves by the US to continue using the fentanyl issue to impose tariffs and resort to extortion and pressure are self-defeating approaches, which will not solve its own concerns but seriously impact dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in drug control.

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"Pressure, coercion, and threats are not the right ways to deal with China," Lin said, adding that mutual respect is a fundamental premise for engaging with the country.

"China urges the US to correct its erroneous practices and return to the right path of resolving respective concerns through equal consultations," he said.

Also on Friday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said China will take all necessary countermeasures to protect China's legitimate rights and interests if the US persists in its tariff move, according to a statement.

While saying that China has taken note of the US move, a spokesperson said in the statement that China had repeatedly stated that the unilateral imposition of extra tariffs violates WTO rules and undermines the multilateral trading system.

China is one of the countries that has the strictest drug control policies and highest levels of enforcement globally, and China has actively launched international drug control cooperation, including the United States, the spokesperson said.

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However, the United States has repeatedly ignored objective facts, and has previously imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on China using a similar pretext and is now threatening to impose more tariffs once again.

Such actions are outright blame-shifting, which not only is unhelpful to the resolving of its own problems but also likely to increase the burden on US businesses and consumers while undermining the stability of global supply chains, the spokesperson said.

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China hopes the US side will not repeat its mistakes and return quickly to the right path of resolving differences through equitable dialogue, the spokesperson added.

With Xinhua inputs