China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Friday that it will soon publish a blacklist of “unreliable” foreign entities it claims have damaged its domestic industries, an apparent retaliation for the U.S. move to blacklist Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
Beijing officials told reporters Friday that the government would target foreign businesses or individuals that violated contracts or took other unspecified “discriminatory measures” against Chinese businesses or hurt China’s national security interests, according to the South China Morning Post. Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said the specifics of the blacklist would be announced “in the near future” but indicated that it would focus on entities that blocked Chinese businesses for reasons unrelated to commerce.
The warning came as Beijing also slapped tariffs of 20%-25% on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, up from 5%-19% in most cases. Beijing first announced the increases earlier this month in retaliation for the U.S. hiking tariffs on Chinese goods following a breakdown in trade talks between the world’s two largest economies.
“If the U.S. wants to negotiate, our door is open. If you want to fight, we will fight to the end,” a broadcaster for state-run news channel CCVTV said in a commentary Friday.
President Trump and his officials have repeatedly claimed that they were close to a trade deal with Beijing at the end of April only to have China attempt to walk back several concessions at the last minute. Beijing disputed it ever made the concessions in the first place.
The Trump administration hiked all existing tariffs covering $250 billion in Chinese goods to 25%, up from 10% in most cases following the breakdown.
The administration has also said it would place 25% tariffs on a further $300 billion worth of goods, effectively covering all Chinese imports, though Trump has indicated the decision hasn’t been finalized. The United States has told allies not to use Huawei’s technology, citing concerns it could be involved in spying for China, an accusation the firm has denied.
