China urges US to reverse tariffs, preserve counternarcotics cooperation

China has expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to the latest US tariff levy on Chinese goods, saying it "will take necessary countermeasures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."On Saturday, the US announced a 10 percent levy on Chinese products exported to the US, blaming China for its own fentanyl issue.

In a statement issued in response on Sunday, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson reaffirmed China's consistent stance, asserting that "there are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars."

"The US' unilateral tariff imposition is a serious violation of WTO rules, which not only fails to solve its own problems, but is even more detrimental to both sides and unhelpful to the world," the statement said.

China has been among the countries with the most stringent and most thoroughly enforced counternarcotics policies in the world, the statement said.

"Fentanyl is a problem of the US. In a humanitarian spirit, China has provided support to the US in dealing with the fentanyl problem," it added. In 2019, at the request of the US, China became the first country to officially list the entire category of fentanyl-like substances under control.

"It is evident to all that the Chinese side has carried out extensive counternarcotics cooperation with the US side and achieved remarkable results. The US side should objectively and rationally look at and deal with its own fentanyl problem instead of threatening other countries with tariffs arbitrarily," the statement said.

"The imposition of tariffs is not constructive and will inevitably affect and jeopardize future cooperation between the two sides on the counternarcotics issue," the statement added.

China is urging the US to correct its wrong approach, maintain the hard-won good situation of China-US counternarcotics cooperation, and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations, the spokesperson said.