China’s President Xi Jinping is comparing the trade conflict between his country and the U.S. to a brawl, in comments to a group of U.S. and European businessmen, saying his country will ‘punch back’ against the tariffs the U.S. is implementing.

“In the West, you have the notion that if somebody hits you on the left cheek, you turn the other cheek. In our culture, we punch back,” he said, participants at a private meeting held on Thursday told the Wall Street Journal. The meeting included officials from Volkswagen, Hyatt Hotels, and Goldman Sachs, among others.

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