In responding to threatened tariffs on their imported goods to America, China has ratcheted up the already rising temperature by indicating on social media it is prepared to go to “war.”
And not just of the trade kind.
You read it right.
If American President Donald Trump was not thrilled with Canada’s tough talk on tariffs, check out the vitriolic response coming from China in the form of a post from the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. that was sent out on X just before midnight Wednesday.
“If the U.S. truly want to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals. If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight until this end.”
Wow. This is quite a message.
Sent out on by the account Chinese Embassy in US, it was responding to a post by a Chinese government account called Spokesperson which wrote: “The fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports” and that “the U.S., not anyone else, is responsible for the fentanyl crisis inside the U.S.”
It added “we have taken robust steps to assist the U.S. in dealing with the issue” but “instead of recognizing our efforts, the U.S. has sought to smear, and shift blame to China and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes.”
The post also said “intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us” and “pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China” and “anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating.”
It then repeats the line in the Chinese Embassy in US post that “if war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”
It’s strong language — especially the part where it takes out of the realm of it being a trade or tariff war and talks of “any other type of war.”
So far, neither the White House nor the American government have commented and while these posts have been moving around on X, there has not been much media coverage or commentary.
The Sun has reached out to both the Americans and the Chinese Embassy in Washington and will report what they say, should they respond.
While there has been strong words from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has threatened to “cut off” power to the U.S. “with smile on my face” and has vowed to “fight to the death” for Ontario jobs, and from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has said “a fight with Canada will have no winners,” neither have crossed the line that suggests an all-out war.
It is interesting that Trump, who has had plenty to say about Canada including his desire to making it America’s 51st state, has not yet commented on China’s aggressive language in this post.
Stay tuned.