U.S. 'opening fire' on world with tariff threats, China says

BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States is "opening fire" on the world with its tariffs, China warned on Thursday, saying no one wants a trade war but it will respond to the moment up the rhetoric in the heated dispute.

The Trump Administration's tariffs on $ 34 billion of Chinese imports are due to go into effect at 0401 GMT on Friday, which is just after midday in Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump has risen to $ 450 billion worth of Chinese goods if China retaliates, with the row of markets, stocks, currencies and the global trade of commodities from soybeans to coal.

China has said it will not be "fire the first shot", but its tariffs will be reduced to US $.

Speaking at a weekly news conference, Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng warned the proposed U.S. tariffs would hit international supply chains, including foreign companies in the world's second-largest economy.

"If the US implements tariffs, they will actually be adding tariffs to companies from all countries, including Chinese and U.S. companies," Gao said.

"U.S. Measures are essentially attacking global supply and value chains. To put it simply, the U.S. is opening fire on the entire world, including itself, "he said.

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" Asked whether US companies would be targeted with "qualitative measures" in China in a trade war, Gao said the government would protect the legal rights of foreigners in the country.

"We will continue to assess the potential impact of the US-initiated trade war on companies and will help companies possible mitigate shocks."

Gao said China's foreign trade was expected to continue on a stable path in the second half of the year, but a Sino-US full-blown fear trade war would be a blow to Chinese exports and its economy.

Foreign companies accounted for $ 20 trillion, or 59 percent, of the $ 34 trillion exports from China which would be subject to new U.S. tariffs, with U.S. firms accounting for a significant portion of that 59 percent, Gao said.

Speaking at a separate briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang sidestepped a question on whether there had been efforts to initiate new talks with the United States.

"We do not want to fight a war, but any country's legitimate interests are harmed," said Lu said.

China's plans to impose tariffs on hundreds of U.S. exports, including soybeans, sorghums and cotton, threatening U.S farmers in states of Trump, such as Texas and Iowa.

Chinese buying of soybeans is a prerequisite for the production of pork, the country's top-selling meat.

In the latest sign that the risk of a ship is hitting trade, a vessel carrying a U.S. coal and heading for China was diverted on Wednesday to Singapore.

GLOBAL RISKS

The World Trade Organization warned against the backdrop of global economic recovery, with their effects already starting to show.

Adding to the voltages, a Chinese court this week barred Micron Technology Inc. ( MU.O ) United States of America Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) ( 2303.TW ).

Beijing has made the semiconductor sector a key priority under its "Made in China 2025" strategy, which has shifted up a gear after a ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ) underscored China's lack of domestic chips.

Chinese stocks slipped on Thursday and the yuan steadied from the earlier losses.

China's central bank moved to calm jittery markets on Tuesday.

A trade war with the United States could hit China's export machine. Second-quarter economic growth is expected to have slowed down slightly, a Reuters poll showed, as the search for a negative impact on the United States.

LITTLE HOPE

Both Chinese and U.S. business sources in China said that it was possible that the tariffs could be warned.

"I'm not, for now," said Tu Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics, who has advised the Chinese government.

A US industry source said: "There is a 99 percent chance that tariffs go into force on Friday."

"Frankly, I do not know what action China could take at the moment that would allow the US to Not imposed tariffs, "the US source said, adding that there was no evidence the two governments had any substantive commitment to the time that could lead to the shelving of duties.

A senior Western diplomat told Reuters that there was no sign of any talks at the time between the two countries, even via back channels.

The industry source said China had been unable to address the Trump administration's concerns about Chinese government, government subsidies, SOE reform, and Beijing's restrictions in the cloud computing industry.